A bill seeking to regulate the employment of staff by Nigerian banks has passed second reading at the House of Representatives.
The draft law, sponsored by Fuad Laguda, a member of the All
Progressives Congress (APC) representing Surulere I federal constituency of
Lagos, aims to amend the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020 to
“prohibit, criminalise and penalise” the employment of casual or contract staff
by banks.
Leading the debate on the bill during Thursday’s plenary,
Laguda said the objective of the proposed law is to “totally mitigate”
employment in banks to remove “exploitative and oppressive treatments of
millions” of Nigerians who work as casual or contract workers in the financial
sector.
He said the Labour Act 2004, and the Employees’ Compensation
Act (ECA) 2010 do not provide for the welfare of casual and contract staff.
Citing a 2023 report by the Chartered Institute of Bankers
of Nigeria (CIBN), the lawmaker said banks use casual and contract workers to
reduce costs for operations such as pensions, minimum wages, health insurance,
promotions, bonuses, study grants, and severance packages.
Laguda said casual and contract workers are about 65 percent
of the entire workforce in banks, adding that the bill seeks equitable
treatment for all Nigerian workers.
The legislator said the proposed law aims to curb the
“heinous practices” of banks breaching the provisions of section 7(1) of the
Labour Act 2004, which states that an employee should not be employed for more
than three months without the formal recognition of such employment.
“I urge my colleagues to support this bill because it
corresponds with the viewpoints of the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN), Mr Olayemi Cardoso, who said casual and contract staff in Nigerian Banks
are exposed to poor working conditions,” Laguda told the parliament.
He added that banks usually employ casual and contract staff
to avoid entering into any legal and contractual obligations with them, and are
subject to systemic inequalities, emotional abuses, and mental health
challenges.
Lawmakers unanimously voted in support of the bill when
Benjamin Kalu, the deputy speaker, called for a voice vote.
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