NLC to fight casualisation to standstill — Official

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) says it has resolved to fight casualisation to a standstill in the country.

The Head, NLC Lagos Sub-Secretariat, Mr Wilson Onemolease, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.

Onemolease spoke on the sidelines of a picketing carried out by construction workers under the aegis of National Union of Civil Engineering Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFEW).

The workers had picketed the office of an engineering company, Al Mansour Engineering Company, in Lagos, alleging anti-labour practices including casualisation.

Onemolease said: ‘’Casualisation, outsourcing are global trends; employers do not want to take responsibility when you leave work.

‘’They do not want to probably take care of the insurance; contribute to pension: the reason why it is trending.

‘’Before now, what we used to do as a union was to fight for those who are our members, but we resolved in 2004 that every worker, irrespective of who they are, needs to be protected.’’

The leader said, however, that the union was facing challenges in curbing the practice because some workers in their respective workplaces refused to report it.

According to him, fear of job loss was one major reason many of the workers did not report to the union.

‘’We need to fight this trend; it is not just because of the ills in these companies at the moment, but we are targeting the future.

‘’How can you work for 30 years and at the end of the day, you are just sent home – there will not be gratuity, pension.

‘’It is something we need to fight; it is a global war and we will continue to do our best; all we just need is information, ‘’ Onemolease said.

Also, the General Secretary, NUCECFEW, Mr Ibrahim Walama, said that NLC’s recent National Executive Council Meeting held in Enugu resolved to set up committees at different levels to address casualisation.

‘’First, we call it anti casualisation and organising committee at the national level, to be led by senior officials at that level.

‘’Also, for each state of the council, it was agreed at the NEC that they should form anti casualisation committee so as to engage any employer that is indulged in this practice.

‘’We have resolved at our recent NEC meeting to go out and engage all employers in the industry, who are in the habit of casualising the employment of workers.

‘’We have also realised that such is so dehumanising and it does not give any worker any sense of belonging, neither will a worker call it a decent work because he is commonised as a casual, ‘’Walami said.

Earlier, the workers chanted solidarity songs, holding up placards with inscriptions such as, ‘’Stop Treating Workers like Slaves’’; ‘’Responsible Corporate Organisations Respect Statutory Agreements with Social Partners’’ among others.

Walami said: ‘’Some of the things we are doing here are to ensure workers’ rights are recognised; they should be organised.

‘’It is in our collective bargaining agreement that there should be no casualisation of employment; if it should be, it should not exceed one month where you are testing the capacity of workers on an assigned job.”

Meanwhile, the Human Resource Officer of the engineering company, who refused to say his name, told NAN that the management was still discussing with the union and did not have any comment to make.