The House of Representatives has mandated the committees on Labour, Employment, Productivity, and Human Rights to investigate some employers of labour on alleged human rights abuse against their workers.
This followed the adoption of a motion by Rep. Fuad Laguda (APC-Lagos) during plenary in Abuja on Wednesday.
Presenting the motion, the lawmaker stressed the need to curb the use of casual workers by employers of labour in Nigeria, contrary to the provisions of Labour Act.
He said the oppressive and exploitative act of casualisation of employment in Nigeria was spreading across the country.
He described casualisation, as a form of slavery, adding that it could gradually destroy a nation’s economy, leading to overworked individuals with inadequate income and retirement savings.
He added that this would result in an overworked population who relied on government for survival, thus overbearing the social assistance capacity of the government.
“The attributes attached to casualisation, among others, include, abysmal low wages, absence
of medical care allowances, no job security or promotion at work.
Others are absence of gratuity and other severance benefits, no leave or leave allowance, freedom of association is often jeopardized, no death benefits among others,” he said.
He expressed concerns that in spite of the inflationary trend in Nigeria, casual staff were still being paid between N40,000 and N150,000, depending on the bank or financial institution.
He added that they were often laid off at any time without notice or compensation since the banks were not under any legal contractual obligation.
He stated that contract staff significantly contributed to the growth of the banking industry through their services, leading to profits declared by these banks.
Adopting the motion, the house mandated the committees on Labour, Employment, Productivity, and Human Rights to investigate the extent of the infractions against the rights of Nigerian workers.
