Recently, the organised private sector unions released alarming data indicating that over 70 per cent of the nation’s workforce in the private sector is casualised. Casualisation is the practice of employing temporary staff for short periods rather than make them permanent staff. This phenomenon is aimed at saving costs. Under the arrangement, the worker is not entitled to any pecks such as transportation, leave, medical allowances or special benefits package. Besides, the worker’s take-home pay is so miserable that it can hardly take him/her home.
The typical casual worker gets a miserable N500 per day. But then, casualization is thriving because of high rate of unemployment, even though it contravenes Section 7 (1) of the Labour Act, Cap 198, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1990. The Act provides that, “Not later than three months after the beginning of a worker’s period of employment with an employer, the employer shall give to the worker a written statement specifying the terms and conditions of employment, which include the nature of the employment and if the contract is for a fixed term, the date when the contract expires.”
As if to boost the labour act, section 17(a) of the 1999 Constitution condemns casualisation because is at variance with its provisions, which guarantees equal pay for equal work. Furthermore, Convention 153 of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which Nigeria is a signatory, does not support any form of discrimination in workplace. In fact, the section holds that casualisation is out of tune with 21st century best practices. Hence, the discrimination in pay between permanent and casual employees should not exist. Besides, the section frowns against discrimination on account of sex or any grounds whatsoever.
But casualisation is growing at a worrisome rate as available statistics show that preponderance of casual workers is in the telecommunications, oil and gas, banking, insurance, mining and steel sectors. To put it in proper perspective, about 50 per cent of workers in telecommunication and cement manufacturing companies are on casual fringes. Sadly, outsourcing is also used interchangeably with casualisation in all these sectors as a ploy to avoid regularizing their employment. More disturbing is that expatriate companies, mainly owned by Chinese and Indians are worse culprits. Nigeria is a haven for their illicit and inhuman ventures. But can they succeed without connivance with unpatriotic highly placed Nigerians. No they cannot.
Recently, the Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Rights in Nigeria, a Non-Governmental Organisation, heightens fears that the situation would worsen as employers prefer to outsource staff. Although the rapid increase in the both casualisation and outsourcing trends is attributed to the global economic and employment crises that have continued to threaten the future of developing economies, such as Nigeria, its continuing practice remains a serious challenge to the government. The president, Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions, Mr. Olusoji Salako, has identified casualisation as a serious challenge the Nigerian economy is grappling with. On the economic front, Nigeria has made remarkable progress having passed crucial tests by international organisations like the IMF which recently scored the nation’s economy growth high.
However, it is hard to reconcile the progress with the current situation whereby half of its productive workforce is casual. In April, Nigeria emerged as the strongest economy in the continent through what still remains a controversial formula called Rebased economy. Is it not intriguing that casual workforce is behind the rapid growth of the economy? The challenge before rating agencies is to produce convincing reports. Nigerian workers through the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) are battling unrelentingly to eradicate casualisation, but the desired result is yet to be achieved. Therefore, a legislation to end casualisation becomes necessary and urgent. Though there is a move by the Senate to stem the tide, the situation requires a more desperate intervention. Casualisation is a modern-day slavery. To associate our economy with it diminishes the high profile rating that Nigeria is so proud of among the comity of nations.