Labour laws must be respected at all times
The plight of Nigerians working in some Asian-owned companies operating in the country is worrying. Apparently because of the desperate drive of government for foreign investment and substantially because of the endemic corruption in the country that makes it possible for agencies saddled with monitoring the enforcement of labour laws to be compromised, these workplace abuses are perpetrated with impunity. There are tales of how our citizens in these companies are forced to work under the most hazardous conditions as most of them are made to carry out dangerous tasks without protective equipment and requisite workplace safety measures. Some of these workers have even lost their lives or become permanently incapacitated in the course of carrying out assigned tasks.
In several cases, the affected workers or their next of kin receive little or no compensation despite the fact that the accidents that led to their deaths or permanent injuries occurred at their places of work and in the course of carrying out assigned duties. Not only are the Nigerian workers in the employ of these companies subjected to inhuman treatments that could be described as modern day slavery, they are also made to work for long hours and paid ridiculous wages that literally cannot take them home.
Meanwhile, the Asian workers brought into the country, many of them with lesser qualifications and many with no work permits, are paid stupendous wages. There are also reports that some of these 'expatriates' are convicts brought in to work as part of their prison terms. This is not only a breach of the extant labour laws, it is also a contravention of the Nigerian constitution. Some of these companies are also reported to be in breach of provisions of existing labour laws especially with respect to perpetual casualisation of some of their Nigerian employees, thereby denying them of job security and appropriate benefits such as health insurance and pension scheme.
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General Secretary, the Federation of Informal Workers' Organisation of Nigeria (FIWON), Gbenga Komolafe, lays the problem on casualisation of workers in many sectors and the lack of protection for them. "We ask that the laxity in labour law that legitimises them should be amended. We will continue to fight for union rights for all workers," said Komolafe. "All these are happening because there is no labour protection. We can't organise them because they are not our members. It is part of the agenda of political reforms that workers get better representation in governance. All workers should have the basic protection of the union while at work." Unfortunately, the affected workers do not have the luxury of opting out of this enslavement because of the unprecedented level of unemployment in the country today. They are left with the option of choosing between the devil - in this case, their employers - and the deep blue sea, which is the ever-expanding unemployment market.
We strongly condemn these inhuman and undignifying labour practices and call on government to urgently put an end to the violation of the rights of the Nigerian workers by ensuring compliance with extant labour laws. We believe no responsible government would allow its citizens to be subjected to such dehumanising treatment by foreign companies. While government may be driving for increased foreign investments, potential investors must be made to understand that we are a nation governed by laws and those laws must be respected at all times. We also call on organised labour to play a key role in putting an end to these practices by helping to identify those companies engaging in the abuse of Nigerian workers and reporting them to the appropriate authorities.
