Casualisation: An operational cost reduction strategy to survive in the banking industry

It is no longer new that the scourge of casualization of employment has gained grounds in an unprecedented proportion in Nigeria.

TEMITOPE ADEBAYO writes on the increase and high rate of acceptance of this labour practice in the Nigerian banking industry.

Commercial banks operators in Nigeria are increasingly filling positions in their organisations that are supposed to be permanent with casual employees.

This trend has been largely attributed to the increasing desperation of employers to cut down costs in a tight operational environment like Nigeria.

With this development, casualization of employment has been seen as an appropriate strategy for cost reduction in the banking industry, which seems to be justifiable since reduced cost means the higher profit which is the ultimate goal of every organization.

Moreover, the current state of Nigeria, infrastructure decay has largely linked to this labour act by many of the banks’ operators. Although, such employers have in many occasions pitched themselves against labour unionists, stakeholders and the contract staffers involved.

Meanwhile, some stakeholders expressed fears that the increasing spate of casualisation in banks maybe responsible for the rising cases of frauds in the banking industry.

According to them, most frauds in banks may have been perpetrated by contract staff whose meagre salaries are barely enough to keep their eyes away from depositors’ funds.

One of the stakeholders, who confided in our correspondent, recalled an instance, where a contract staff in one of the new generation banks in Lagos recently attempted to steal a box full of dollar notes after the bank had closed for the day.

He said it was in a bid to avert this kind of scenario that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) warned commercial banks to desist from giving sensitive banking roles to contract staff, as they do not have a stake in the banks.

The National President, Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI), Comrade Oyinkan Olasanoye had said that the country Labour Act has not been fair to workers.

According to her, under the Act, organisations can use outsourced staff, but they cannot be used for more than six months before they are converted to full-time employees.

She, however, lamented that organisations are not keeping to the rules, as outsourced staff remain in the same position for years, and sometimes, sacked without due consultation.

She accused the Ministry of Labour and Employment of not enforcing compliance among companies, stating that the Ministry needs to encourage more inspectors to go out and look at the conditions that casual workers are being exposed to.

The ASSBIFI national president, however, said the Association sent a lot of proposals to the National Assembly, drawing its attention to the negative effects of casualisation in the financial sector, but the Association is yet to get a feedback on those proposals

Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) General-Secretary, Mr Lumumba Okugbawa is no less worried by banks’ preference for contract staffing.

Describing casualisation as ‟a cankerworm that has eaten deep into the fabrics of our industry in particular”, he said most companies’ management keyed into this option to short-change the average worker in order to maximise profit.

The PENGASSAN scribe also, accused banks and other organisations engaged in contract staffing, of denying employees their right to be organised.

“We agree that there are short-term jobs like three to six months, but keeping a worker for up to 15 years as a casual worker is nothing short of slavery and should be condemned in its ‘entirety.

“We, therefore, call for a strengthening of our relevant laws to discourage this menace.

In some climes, due to the short period and fixed term of their contract, these categories of workers even earn more than the so-called permanent or regular workers. The struggle is still on to discourage this practice. Casual or contract workers have no legal protection”, he said.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr Williams Alao, who spoke on behalf of President Buhari and Nigeria, as head of the Nigerian delegation, to this year’s ILO Centenary session said Nigeria as a country has already barred casualisation.

He said the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment had issued several circulars banning casualisation in Nigeria, adding that casualisation was not acceptable in the country.

He said the Federal Government will no longer tolerate casualisation in the nation’s world of work.

“I am pleased to inform this august gathering that Nigeria is one of the countries that has convened a National Dialogue on the Future of Work and is implementing many of the initiatives as well as the recommendations of our National Dialogue.

“We agree with the ILO that labour, being the most critical factor of production, should be the fulcrum of economic and social policies if we are to have a just, fair, equitable and egalitarian society in the future.”

He pointed out that, there is presently a concerted effort to create an efficient, productive, incorruptible and citizen-centred workforce, anchored on four pillars of professionalism, enterprise, content management system, entrepreneurship culture and enhanced welfare package for employees.

While these are no doubt cheery news for Nigerians caught in the web of casualisation across the sectors, the Federal Government’s claims that it has outlawed the practice is clearly at variance with the reality on the ground. This is so particularly in the banking industry where the practice has continued to thrive.

However, going by the tough stance of the labour movement and other concerned stakeholders against the practice, it’s probably safe to say that the issue will continue to pitch organised labour against employers on one hand, and the government on the other hand, until it is addressed.

It is, however, worthy of note that casualization ultimately presents lots of challenges for the employees and organizations alike. Also behind this issue of casualization in the country is the high level of unemployment and accompanying poverty.

These two issues have bred a dangerous work environment and have given much aid to the prevalence of employment casualization, as many desperate job seekers in the labour force, are willing to take any job no matter how dirty or degrading it is.

Casual workers occupy a precarious position in the workplace and society, and are effectively a new set of ‟slaves” and ‟underclass” in the modern capitalist economy.