Reps move to prohibit banks from hiring casual, contract staff

The House of Representatives has advanced a bill seeking to prohibit Nigerian banks from employing casual or contract staff, as the proposed legislation passed second reading during plenary.

The bill, sponsored by Fuad Laguda, an All Progressives Congress lawmaker representing Surulere I federal constituency of Lagos State, seeks to amend the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020. Its objective is to prohibit, criminalise and penalise the use of casual and contract workers by banks.

Presenting the bill, Laguda said the proposed law is designed to curb what he described as the exploitative and oppressive treatment of millions of Nigerians working in the banking sector under casual or contract arrangements. He argued that existing laws, including the Labour Act 2004 and the Employees’ Compensation Act 2010, fail to adequately protect the welfare and rights of such workers.

He cited a 2023 report by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, which found that banks rely heavily on casual and contract staff to cut operational costs linked to pensions, minimum wage compliance, health insurance, promotions, bonuses, study grants and severance benefits. According to Laguda, these categories of workers make up about 65 percent of the total workforce in Nigerian banks.

The lawmaker said the bill aims to promote fairness and equal treatment for all Nigerian workers, while addressing what he called the persistent violation of section 7(1) of the Labour Act 2004, which stipulates that no employee should be engaged for more than three months without formal recognition of employment.

Laguda urged his colleagues to support the bill, noting that it aligns with concerns previously raised by the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, on the poor working conditions faced by casual and contract staff in banks. He added that such workers are often engaged to enable banks avoid legal and contractual obligations, exposing them to systemic inequality, emotional abuse and mental health challenges.

The bill received unanimous support when the deputy speaker, Benjamin Kalu, called for a voice vote, allowing it to scale second reading.