Oct. 26, 2021

Federal Government has said it is committed to a seamless amendment of the labour laws

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige said this at a one-day Public Hearing on the three labour bills by the Senate Committee of Labour and Employment on Tuesday in Abuja.

He expressed sadness over the alarming rate of casualisation of workers in the country and vowed to put a stop to it.

The minister said this in a statement signed by Mr. Charles Akpan, the Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations of the ministry.

He insisted that casualisation was a vexed anti-labour practice which the Federal Government had been addressing since 2016.

“Casualisation is a very volatile issue. Recall that during the Eight Senate, we appeared before this committee over the same issue, when some banks and financial institutions casualised and sacked workers unilaterally in 2016.

The bills include the National Directorate of Employment Act 2004, Labour Act Cap L1, LFN 2004 (Amendment bill 2021(SB.469), and Prohibition of casualisation in Nigeria (Establishment Bill 2021(SB,329)

“We are not sitting idle. 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 of that, 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,” he said.

Ngige therefore urged the National Assembly to grant the ministry more time to liaise within the tripartite community so as to make fruitful contributions.

“That is toward a seamless enactment of an act on the prohibition of casualisation in Nigeria, in a manner that will stand the test time,” he said.

“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, in deed 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, Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), the NNPC, PENGASSAN and other-related affiliate unions .

“The assignment of the committee is to draft a guideline on contract staffing in the oil industry, which will later be transmitted to the Federal Executive Council and to the Attorney General of the Federation.