Casualisation and contract staffing in Nigeria, especially in the oil and Gas sector has led to frequent industrial dispute and this however have a negative impact on the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
However in a bid to resolve this ugly situation, the Federal Government in August in August, 2010 constituted a technical working group with a clear mandates of working out guidelines for the protection of right of workers in the oil and Gas industry and all sectors of Nigeria economy which other stakeholders see the move as lacking political will.
The membership of the working group cut across the representatives of Ministry of Labour Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Oil Producing Trade Sector (OPTS), Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NPPIMS), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Nigeria Content Development and Monitory Board (NCDMD), Ministries of Interior, Petroleum with the secretariat domiciled in the ministry of Labour and Productivity.
The group which were given a three months to complete its work were however urged to review the existing MOUs on the casualisation and contract staffing, review the recommendations of the stakeholders forum organized by the ministry of Labour, design an acceptable guidelines on negotiation and collective bargaining for contract/ out-sourced staff and proffer implementable solutions to unfair labour practices in the Oil and Gas sector.
The working group after three months submitted 7 chapters’ recommendations, which they said chapter one contains expositions on background studies on the subject matter and incidences, methodology and challenges encounter. Chapter two according to the report contains information on international views and practices on casualisation with ILO in reference, and a comparative study of some countries in Europe, Africa and Asia cited as best practices. Chapter three however contains information on previous MOU on the subject drawn up in 1992, 20o1, 2004, and 2005 with a review of decisions reached on unionization and collective bargaining, respect for Labour laws, machinery for conflict resolution, and migration from contract to permanent staff and expatriate quota. Chapter four in the reports contains information on conclusions of stakeholders fora held on 3rd and 4th March 2010, detailing the recommendations on unionization, manpower contract staffing, Labour contract and service staffing , grievances and dispute resolution procedures, contract roll-over, expatriate quota and local content policy, condition for outsourcing, and definitions of contract duration and roll-over. In chapter five, the group provides recommendations of the committee on the guidelines for unionization and collective bargaining in relation to workers in the free trade/export producing zones, capacity building for contract staff, fair remuneration and distinction between core and regular staff. Also presented in this chapter are recommendations for filling vacancies, staff roll-over, and the NAPIMS and the principal oil companies. The committee also gave recommendations on procedures for grievances and dispute resolution, determination of expatriate quotas, local content and contract tenure.
Chapter six provides solutions the committee identified to address unfair labour practices connected with casualisation and contract staffing in Nigeria Oil and Gas sector. Chapter seven however contains the recommended guidelines for contract staffing in Nigeria derived from international practices, previous MOUs studied and outcomes of other stakeholders meetings, as well as emerging issues in the sector observed during the sittings of the committee.
While receiving the reports, former Minister of Labour and Productivity Emeka Wogu yesterday said that Federal Government was ready to bring to an end the inhuman practices called casualisation or contract staffing by some multinationals operating in the country.
Emeka Wogu who inaugurated the working group however said with these report on casualisation and contract staffing in the Oil and Gas sector of the Nigerian economy, government will take step to ensure such practices is address in other sector of the economy.
“you will agree with me that the issue of casualisation and outsourcing of workers is not limited to only Oil and Gas sector alone, but with the report that is been presented today, it may be adapted in other area were such practice exist.
“It is base on that we have to go back to ILO prescribed core Labour standards which led down the foundation for fair Labour practices and decent work in work place.
There are important elements that will improve industrial relation that is currently part of our domestic legislation, with this background I am therefore dismay that the Oil and Gas sector had an industrial relation problem which is casualasation and contract staffing and this arising from the kind of employment relationship which was engage by them which is an upshot of globalization and mordernisation” he said.
However since the presentation of the recommendations by the working group, the supervisory ministry, Labour and productivity is yet to come out with guidelines or said anything as regard to when it would implement the reports.
Stakeholders have expressed concern over delay in implementing the report because according to them “we will vehemently resist any practice that is found to be deceptively exploitive with tendency to degrade jobs in the name of creating employment”.
They said Government must have the political will to address these inhuman treatments called contract staffing, because according to them a lot of recommendation are dusting in files in most government offices without implementation.
National president of Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN, comrade Babatunde Ogun while commenting on the issue said several justifications are continually being advanced by the employers and Government agencies for business models and employment policies necessitating outsourcing and other forms of short term employment measures.
He said, “Our advocacy is fair and sufficient compensation, fair and sufficient benefits and good welfare for all categories of our members through unrestricted legitimate right to union activities, collective bargaining and other statutory provision for interactions, engagement and resolutions of issues with other social partners”.
LEADERSHIP SUNDAY checks revealed that apart from Oil and Gas sector whose casualisation assumed to be on top gear, there is urgent need for the Federal Gotvernment to implement any report that will ameliorate the suffering of Nigerian workers because most of these multi nationals enslave Nigerians on the guise of providing employment.
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