Footwear workers frown at use of casuals

The national president, National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber and Non-Metallic Product Employees, Mr. Olatunji Babatunde, has expressed dissatisfaction over continued replacement of their full time workforce with temporary, casual, outsourced and contract workers at a frightening rate. He said such trend endangers the nation’s economy. Speaking in Lagos on the occasion of the World […]

The national president, National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber and Non-Metallic Product Employees, Mr. Olatunji Babatunde, has expressed dissatisfaction over continued replacement of their full time workforce with temporary, casual, outsourced and contract workers at a frightening rate.

He said such trend endangers the nation’s economy.

Speaking in Lagos on the occasion of the World Decent Day, Babatunde said employers now hide behind what they call the ‘core ‘value of their business to casualise over 70 per cent of their workforce through outsourcing and contract employment.

Babatunde explained that precarious work has led to increasing erosion of basic workers right such as freedom of association and collective bargaining, adding that the use of temporary or casual workers has led to depletion in the membership and capacity of labour unions in all sectors of the economy.

He said: “We ask employers of labour to respect the law and where the law is observed in breach, the Ministry of Labour and other agencies of government should enforce the law.

‘It is unacceptable that the Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP) and Nigeria Industrial Court (NIC) will deliver judgments and employers will disregard such judgments.”

“The union therefore demands immediate end to all forms of employment that offend human dignity and deny workers access to living wages, social protection and denial of the right to join the union,” he added.