Reps condemn continuous casualisation of workers

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Members, House of Representatives

The House of Representatives has condemned the continued casualisation of workers and the degrading treatment meted out to them by their employers in the country.

This followed the adoption of a motion by Rep Tajudeen Adefisoye (APC-Ondo) on the floor of the House on Tuesday in Abuja.

Moving the motion, Adefisoye said that there was the need to curb the scourge of casualization of employment in Nigeria.

He noted that casualisation of workers had assumed a worrisome dimension in private and public sectors with employers capitalising on the high level of unemployment to subject workers to servitude.

The lawmaker added that some of these works were done under deplorable working conditions, adding that statistics from the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) indicated that many workers were on casual employment.

He listed such employers to include: Telecommunications, Oil and gas, Mining, Steel, Banking and Insurance Industries which were on casual employment

Adefisoye stated that section 7(1) of the Labour Act, 2004 provides that no worker should be engaged on probation or temporary employment for more than three months.

He urged the NLC, Trade Union Congress and other Non- Governmental Organisations and the Federal Government to develop the political will to enforce compliance with decent and acceptable working environment in Nigeria.

The House of Representatives member expressed concerns about reported cases of workers being employed for several years as casual workers or contract staff without being regularised and the gory details of their treatment by foreign firms.

Adefisoye said that the phenomenon was mostly associated with Indian, Chinese and Lebanese firms, whose management personnel allegedly often physically assault and restrict the movement of their workers thereby exposing them to various industrial hazards

According to him, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) protocol provides for the transition of employees from temporary to permanent employment within three to twelve months of their contract

The House, therefore, called on the Federal Government to put mechanism and policies in place to ensure that employers of labour conform to internationally acceptable standards of employment

The House also mandated the Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity to ensure compliance.