ILO, ATUMNET rally Africa in Nigeria to confront migrant worker exploitation

•Push for unified protection strategy

As millions of African migrant workers continue to navigate exploitation, unsafe conditions, and weak access to justice, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the African Trade Union Migration Network are convening a pivotal regional workshop in Nigeria aimed at closing the continent’s widening protection gaps.

Scheduled for May 18–20, 2026 in Abuja, the high-level meeting will bring together Migrant Worker Resource Centre (MWRC) focal points from across Africa in what organisers describe as a decisive step toward building a coordinated, continent-wide response to migrant worker vulnerabilities.

Behind the gathering is the reality that: while labour migration continues to power economies across Africa and beyond, the systems meant to protect migrant workers remain fragmented, under-resourced, and often inaccessible.

It is this disconnect that the ILO, through its Fair Migration Agenda and Fair Recruitment Initiative is now seeking to confront head-on.

Working closely with the ITUC-Africa, ATUMNET has emerged as a critical platform for trade union-led responses to migration challenges. Across the continent, these networks have become lifelines for workers facing abuse, unfair recruitment practices, and systemic discrimination.

The Nigeria workshop is expected to consolidate these efforts by bringing together both trade union-led and government-led Migrant Worker Resource Centres, creating a rare space for joint reflection, peer learning, and coordinated action.

More than just dialogue, the meeting is designed to produce tangible outcomes. Central among them is a regional strategy that will define how MWRCs collaborate, share knowledge, and scale effective support services across borders. The strategy will be anchored within ATUMNET, ensuring continuity beyond the workshop.

Participants will also draw from ongoing technical work led by the ILO, including a fresh mapping of MWRCs across Africa, documentation of emerging best practices, and the development of shared operational tools. These inputs are expected to ground discussions in evidence while enabling practical, field-tested solutions.

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Throughout the three-day engagement, facilitators will guide structured plenary and breakout sessions aimed at identifying coordination gaps, strengthening governance models, and prioritising peer-learning mechanisms that reflect the lived realities of migrant workers. But the significance of the workshop extends beyond its agenda.

For both the ILO and ATUMNET, this is a moment to reset how Africa responds to labour migration, not as isolated national challenges, but as a shared continental responsibility requiring collective action.

With migration flows intensifying and labour markets evolving rapidly, failure to act cohesively risks leaving millions of workers exposed to deepening precarity.

By contrast, a coordinated and worker-centred approach, rooted in rights, fairness, and solidarity, could redefine migrant worker protection across Africa.