Labour Casualisation: Broad engagement significant for structural reforms

Labour matters in Nigeria remain a subject of deep discourse. Apparent deficiencies in the instruments that guide the provisions and  administration of labour matters in the Country have posed situations coloured with controversies. The defects have left behind a deficient system saturated and ridden with gaps seemingly constituting the grounds of lacunas which have become soft spots opportunists have been exploiting to their advantage.

The order of a constructive system balanced with human appeals of fairness and justice to human dignity of labour known in the advanced world, is yet a luxury that has not found expression in the Labour terrain of Nigeria. Clamour and grievances over labour issues have continued to brew storms of disturbances which are no good omen for industrial activities favourable for economic growth and development. As grievances over the gaps of exploitation of labour in the Country continue to compound,  enlightenment campaign have seen the call for reforms taking reverberating turn.

The Federal Government had on Tuesday lamented the alarming rate of casualisation of  workforce in the Country.  The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, at a One-Day Public Hearing on three labour bills by the Senate Committee of Labour and Employment, identified the National Directorate of Employment Act 2004, Labour Act Cap L1, LFN 2004 (Amendment bill 2021(SB.469), Prohibition of casualization in Nigeria (Establishment Bill 2021(SB,329), as bills significant to reforming apparent defects in the prevailing system.  On casualisation, the Minister who said his Ministry was committed to a seamless amendment of the labour laws to bring them intadem with the international best practices, insisted that casualisation was a vexed anti-labour practice which the Federal Government has been addressing since 2016.

He was quoted, “Casualisation is a very volatile issue. Recall that during the Eighth Senate, we appeared before this committee over the same issue, when some banks and financial institutions casualised and sacked workers unilaterally in 2016. We are not sitting idle. The time has come to stop casualisation of any form in the labour force. The private entrepreneurs must make gains to keep the business afloat but must not enslave their workers.

“However, it is not just about tackling casualisation, it is more about uprooting the problem. There is a yearly youth surge into the labour market. 1.2 million graduates from the universities and polytechnics move into the market yearly to look for work in the already over bloated public service. This is not inclusive of those with NCE and School Certificate. Since over a year now, public servants below level 12, as part of the COVID-19 protocol have been at home, some working from home, yet the public service goes on. What does it show you? Less work for more persons. In spite, the Federal Government keeps faith and takes the burden as part of the social protection scheme of the administration that is pro-people.  However, we must intensify efforts in job creation. That is the solution. We need a  fundamental restructuring to take care of the surge.

“The Federal Government can no longer close its eyes to casualisation. We must seek a cure and an end to this. We must nevertheless ensure that any law so enacted will stand the test of time and not one that can be circumvented ab initio. We need a law that will elicit buy-in from the employers of labour, the workers, indeed every member of the tripartite.  Before now, we have been working to redress casualisation in the oil and gas sector, and already set up a tripartite committee comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Trade Union Congress (TUC)  Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) the NNPC, PENGASSAN and other related affiliate unions.”

Meanwhile, the  Federal Government had similarly on Tuesday reassured federal civil servants of its commitment to harmonise their salaries before the end of 2021. Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan at the Head of Service physical engagement/interview session with the African Initiative for Governance (AIG), on public service leaders’ programme, in Abuja, had said the huge gulf in the salary scale of the public service requires urgent attention. She was quoted: “A lot of work is being done on salaries. I chair a Presidential committee on harmonisation of salaries in the public service. And actually it takes a lot of work. It’s unfortunate that the differences are quite wide, and that’s the problem the committee is having right now. It might not be possible to bring those that are high there, down.

“Also it won’t be possible to bring everybody to that high salary grade level. So what we are trying to do is to find a way of bringing most people up and then also find out what do we do with those that are already very high. But let me assure you that a lot of work is being done. And we’re working with the Salaries, Income and Wages Commission. They are also part of this committee and the budget office is the secretariat.

“The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labour and Employment are also members of the committee The good thing about this is that we all agree that something must be done about it especially those that are core civil servants, that earn the lowest salaries. I think we all agreed on that. My prayer is really that by the end of the year, we would have come to the conclusion.”

The place of reforms to modify the institutionalised structure of labour in the Country is evidently indisputable. The need for such processes to be vitalised by broad engagement is pertinent to foreclose and eliminate lacunas which may in future time serve as exploitable grounds for opportunists to take advantage of. It has become necessary that the National Assembly work strategically with the Ministry of Labour and Employment for meaningful contributions towards an end that produces virile legislations to institutionalise structures that grow up into a system that frowns against casualisation of labour in the Country. Hence, making broad engagement with Labour stakeholders, such as the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) Trade Union Congress (TUC)  Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), among others,  for veritable inputs towards the end of enduring legislations for strong structures of responsive architecture guiding labour activities on a platter that gives expression to the human appeal of dignity of labour is pertinent.