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The federal government has moved to end workers’ casualization in the country through the issuing of a policy directive on the casualization of employment.
The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Senator Chris Ngige disclosed this at a one day public hearing on the Prohibition of Casualisation in Nigeria Establishment Bill, 2021 organized by the Senate Committee on Employment, Labour and Productivity.
Describing casualiization of employment as worrisome, the Minister told the lawmakers that perpetrators of the practice include the bank, oil and gas and the communication sectors.
According to him, most companies which indulge in the practice do so at high risk, adding that “Research has shown that most of the frauds in the banking sector are perpetrated by casualised staff because they believe that their jobs are not secured.”
This is as he revealed that no reasonable government will allow the inhumanity to continue in the name of employment, insisting that the federal government is working round the clock to end the situation.
Senator Ngige also pleaded with the committee to stay action on the Bill to enable the federal government to consult with relevant stakeholders in the labour sector in order to come up with a policy acceptable to all.
“The Bill is very tricky and we must manage it in such a way that both employers, workers and other stakeholders including the government will buy into it when the bill is eventually passed into law” he stressed.
In his presentation before the Committee, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari who was represented by the Group Executive Director, Corporate Services, Aisha Farida Katagum urged the committee to give the NNPC some time to study and review the Bill before taking a position.
She stressed that with the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), the NNPC is currently undergoing some reforms which may address the issues raised in the bill.
Katagum also dismissed the fear expressed by the Nigeria Labour Congress that there would be a massive sack of workers in the oil giant due to the ongoing reforms in the gas sector.
“My Group Managing Director (GDM) plays value on workers and the reforms in the oil and gas sector will be carried out with a human face,” Katagum said.
The Sponsor of the Bill, Senator Ayo Akinyelure (APC Ondo State) identified labour casualisation as a subject of great concern, insisting that “more workers continue to groan under this immoral strategy of cutting cost by employers rendering them inferior to their counterparts in other countries of the world.”
Senator Akinyelure further listed the objectives of the Bill to include “protecting vulnerable workers against unfair labour practices by way of casualisation, imposing a legal duty on employers of labour both in private and public sector establishments to convert casual employment to permanent status among others.”
In his closing remarks, Committee Chairman, Senator Godiya Akwashiki said all the stakeholders will be given more time to review the legislation as the committee hopes to invite them to a public hearing for further action.
[10/26, 7:16 PM] +234 803 043 5303: Senate Identifies Over 400 Abandoned Water Projects Nationwide
Samuel Ogidan, Abuja
The upper chamber of the National Assembly has identified over 400 Abandoned water projects littered across the country.
The Senate Committee on Water Resources disclosed this while briefing newsmen after the budget defence by the Minister of Water Resources, Engr Suleiman Adamu.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Water Resources, Senator Bello Mandiya, disclosed that some of the dams were cited where they cannot even be constructed.
The Chairman explained that what the Ministry has done so far is to prioritize dams and so far, twenty dams have been identified which will be completed.
Mandiya said: “The Minister met about 400 water projects scattered all over the country. What he did was to prioritize because some dams were even cited where dams cannot be constructed .
“What he did was to prioritize and he has been able to complete some and decidee to do others, about 20 of them from now till the end of his tenure. So, the Ministry is very clear about this .
“If we compare and contrast between what this government has done with previous governments in the water sector, you will realise that this government has done very well .”
The Minister, while appearing before the Committee, lamented spate of abandoned dams across the country.
According to him, We have over 400 dams but many of them have no utilization down stream. Any body can come and invest in the dams.
Speaking on the budget proposal for 2022, the Minister presented budget proposal of N81 billion for the main Ministry, while he presented budget proposal of N70.4 billion for the agencies under the Ministry.
The capital proposal under the main Ministry is about N78 billion, while the Personnel cost is about N2 billion and Overheads, N278 million.
The agencies under the Ministry proposed capital budget of N62.1 billion while personnel is pegged at N7.2 billion and earnmarked N1 billion for overhead.
The Minister in his presentation, told the Committee of their decision to create line item for Public Private Partnership in line with extant circular.
He said that the Ministry is focusing on mobilizing private investment for infrastructures development.
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