ASSBIFI Decries Casualisation Of Workers In Financial Sector

THE Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) has decried the casualisation of about 80% of workers in the financial sector.

ASSBIFI President, Mrs. Oyinkan Olasanoye, at the monthly Labour Writers Association (LAWAN) forum in Lagos, lamented that casualisation was top of the major problems confronting the union, adding that casual workers were being used for fraudulent activities in the sector.

She said, “The percentage is as high as 80 and, for that reason, we have issues with casualisation. The Labour Act makes provision that there should be contract staff but our position is that those contract staff should be allowed to have dignity of labour and adequately compensated.

“It is easy for them to be used as trojan horse, so some of the fraudulent activities taking place in the sector today is easier because some of them are not professionals. They have reasons to be bitter because they are not well trained.”

The ASSBIFI boss noted that the sector had documented a decline in productivity due to the implications of COVID-19 pandemic, which affected their targets.

She stated, “You know we work in a private sector and some of our employers felt what matters to them is profit and COVID-19 pandemic created a lot of issues that disturbed us from getting necessary expectations of our target.

“It might please you to know that the majority of us ignorantly signed some company policies that specify at the end of every year, after appraisal, the least performance without quantifying what makes a least performer will be eased out based on productivity.”

Olasanoye added that the association had come up with a policy that was labour-friendly, assuring that casual workers would not be used and dumped, and that the policy would not disengage them from their duties.