CASUAL STAFF EVERYWHERE

CASUAL STAFF EVERYWHERE

After what appeared to be chronicles of bad news streaming in from uncoordinated government sources in Abuja, we finally have a semblance of positive news as the house of representative prepares to outlaw the use of casual staff in the country. There is really nothing wrong in having casual staff, as long as it is meant for casual labour. And I think that any duration of casual employment beyond three months is an abuse of this administrative principle.

In their bid to cut cost, all sectors of the economy seem to have caught the bug of casual staff. The banking, hospitality and what is remaining of the manufacturing industries being the most guilty culprits. The attraction to the casual staff goes beyond the cost saved from the peanuts paid to them as wages, casual staff are not in real sense a bona

fide staff as they are not entitled to so many remunerations like health care, insurance, pensions, leave allowance and are not included in workers compensation act.

You can't subject over qualified workers to this stone age slavery and get away with it. Now, we are quick at pointing accusing fingers at the Chinese and Lebanese organizations as the guilty parties, but we fail to see our complicity in this project of converting fellow Nigerians to undignified employees. Look at the banking industry, half of the working population pretending to look sharp in fairly used suits are casual staff.

Those in the manufacturing industry already have their fate sealed in the sense that they operate in a locked up environment, they are mostly unskilled and illiterate, and worst of all is that they could barely organize themselves into a labour unit to press for their demands. For them, the future is dreary.

As the vice secretary of the labour unit of my organization then, casual labour was one of the numerous issue we had a running battle with the management over. What however made it trickery then was the fact that you sometimes do not have the support of the people you are fighting for. Let the truth be told, the country is becoming very hostile. If those that are gainfully employed are struggling with livelihood; you can now imagine life without job. So, casual labour is an attraction to this category and fighting to take it away is often resisted not by employer but the potential employee.

This is not a social problem that can be legislated away. It is also a fact of life that the 'poor shall always be with us'. So, a more realistic solution for the government will be to fix energy, create a conducive business atmosphere, lower lending rate to encourage SMEs. Once all these are in place there won't be this desperate need for Nigerians to work under any conditions at all cost.

There will always be casual staff but for casual labour and not for permanent employment as we presently have. We expect both the NLC and TUC to join hands with the house of representatives in their first noble assignment.