By Gift Chapi Odekina
The House of Representatives on Tuesday moved to amend the Labour Act in order to Prohibit and criminalize casualization of employment more than Six Months by employers in Nigeria, outsourcing employment
This followed the passage of a bill for second reading sponsored by Rep. Tasir, Raji during plenary in Abuja.
Debating the bill, Raji stated that the rate of unemployment in Nigeria was currently estimated at 33.5 per cent, adding that this estimate does not include workers in disguised unemployment constituted largely by workers in casual/contract employment.
According to him, section 7 of the Labour Act provides that not later than three (3) months after the beginning of a worker’s employment, the employer shall give him a written statement of employment containing the terms and conditions of employment.
“However, under the extent law there is no adequate consequence for noncompliance.
The proposed amendment is intended to abolish the obnoxious practice of casualization of a worker’s employment by creating a new section 8 which provides that an employer has a period of not less than six (6) months of engaging a worker to regularize his appointment as a full and permanent staff.
“It also provides that in the event of disengagement of a worker after a period of six (6) months from the date of first engagement without regularization, the worker shall be entitled to full salary, allowance and other benefits due to a permanent staff upon disengagement. Provided that the worker has not been found liable of a criminal act involving fraud resulting to financial loss to the company.
“Upon the breach of the above provisions, the proposed section 8(3) paragraph (a-b) provides the punishment for a natural person and corporate bodies respectively.
Out-sourcing of jobs in an employer’s core area(s) of business.
“The concept of outsourcing of employment within the core areas of business of an employer was not anticipated during enactment of the extant law and the employers of labour in Nigeria has exploited this lacuna in outsourcing of jobs within their core areas of business to the disadvantage of the Nigerian workers.
“These employers of labour have taken undue advantage of unemployment situation in the country to slave labour. Employers in the banking, telecoms and the oil and gas industries are the worst culprits.
“To cure these anomalies, we have proposed a new section 9 which is to the effect that notwithstanding the provisions of section 25 of the extent Labour Act, employment outsourcing within an employer’s core area of business is prohibited and it will be an offence for a person or company to pay another for services rendered by its workers, he added.
The six clauses of the bill includes:
Every worker in Nigeria engaged or employed by and has remained in such employment for a period of not less than six months shall have his employment or engagement regularized by the Employer as a full and permanent staff of such employer with all its accompanying entitlements.
Any employer who disengages a worker after a period of six months from the date of first engagement without regularizing the worker’s employment as in sub section 1 of this section shall at the date of disengagement pay to the worker full salaty and all allowances and entitlements due to a permanent staff for six months as if the worker has been a permanent staff in the employment of the Employee for six months immediately preceding the date of disengagement provided the worker has not been found liable of any criminal act involvingfraud resulting to financial loss to the company.
(3) Notwithstanding Section 23 of this Act, failure to comply with the provisions of subsections (1) and (2) above is an offence and the employer:
(a) in the case of a natural person, shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding two million naira or to imprisonment for a period of two years or to both such fine and imprisonment as the Court may deem fit without prejudice to the right of the worker to his full entitlements as provided under this section.
(b) in the case of a Corporate body, shall be liable on conviction to a fine nor exceeding two million naira or to imprisonment for a period of two years for each director of the Company or to both such fine and imprisonment as the Court may deem fit without prejudice to the right of the worker to his full entitlements as provided under this section
3. The Principal Act is hereby amended by creating new Section 9 as follows:
9 (1) notwithstanding Section 25 of this Act, an employer, who has obtained the Minister’s license, employment outsourcing by such employers within its core aims and objectives of operation is hereby prohibited. It is an offence for an employer to pay another person, whether corporate or natural person for services rendered to it by its worker.
(2) Failure to comply with the provisions of subsection (1) above, the employer shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to:
(a) in the case of a natural person, shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding two million naira or to imprisonment for a period of two years or to both such fine and imprisonment as the Court may deem fit without prejudice to the right of the worker to his full entitlements as provided under this section.
(b) in the case of a Corporate body, shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding two million naira or to imprisonment for a period of two years for each director of the Company or to both such fine and imprisonment as the Court may deem fit without prejudice to the right of the worker to his full entitlements as provided under this section.
4. Section 91 (1) of the Principal Act is amended by inserting “regularize to make regular a worker’s employment”.
5. The Principal Act is hereby amended by renumbermg the existing sections 8
to 92 of the Principal Act as sections 10 to 94 of the Labour (Amendment) Bill 2019.
Citation
6. This Bill may be cited as the Labour Act (Amendment) Bill, 2019
