• Friday, March 29, 2024
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Reps ask FG to address exploitation of Nigerian workers in gas and oil companies

House-of-Representatives

The House of Representatives has urged the Minister of Labour, Employment and Productivity and other appropriate Ministries, Departments and Agencies to address the challenges of exploitation and abuses of workers in the oil and gas sector.

The House also urged the Minister of Labour, Employment and Productivity to provide to the Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity with a performance update and report concerning a plan to reform the process of granting and renewing recruiters license to labour contractors as announced in July 2018.

It mandated the Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity to investigate the allegations of violation of labour laws by International Oil Companies, including the casualisation of labour, and report back within four weeks for further legislative action.

These resolutions were reached following a motion on: ‘Need to Investigate the Alleged Violation of Labour Laws by International Oil Companies’, sponsored by Benjamin Kalu (APC, Abia).

According to the lawmaker, the House was aware that Nigeria, as a member of the International Labour Organization (ILO), has ratified 40 international labour conventions and has through the National Assembly, enacted the Labour Act, among other labour-related laws, by which Nigeria is sworn to protecting the rights of workers in the country.

Kalu said the House was also aware of the ugly trend of work in formalisation or casualisation in the oil and gas sector by International Oil Companies (IOCs) leading to uncertainty of employment for thousands of workers who are constrained to operate under very precarious conditions with near-total denial of the benefits associated with permanent and decent work.

He stated that the House was again aware of a report published by the Campaign for Democratic Workers Rights gave the number of casual workers in the Nigerian workforce at 45%, and also stated that 50% of the burden of casualisation exists in the downstream oil and gas sub-sectors of the economy, telecommunications, banking, construction, mining and some other workplaces.