House of Representatives has advanced a bill aimed at stopping Nigerian banks from employing casual and contract workers, as the bill scaled second reading.
Gatekeepers News reports that the bill, sponsored by Fuad Laguda, an All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker representing Surulere I federal constituency in Lagos, seeks to amend the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020.
The bill proposes to prohibit, criminalise, and penalise the use of casual and contract staff in the banking sector.
Presenting the bill during Thursday’s plenary, Laguda said the legislation is designed to totally mitigate casualisation in banks and put an end to the exploitative and oppressive treatments of millions of Nigerians working under non-permanent arrangements in the financial industry.
He argued that existing laws, including the Labour Act 2004 and the Employees’ Compensation Act (ECA) 2010, fail to adequately protect the welfare and rights of casual and contract employees.
Quoting a 2023 report by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Laguda said banks rely heavily on casual and contract staff to cut operational costs tied to pensions, minimum wage compliance, health insurance, promotions, bonuses, study grants and severance benefits.
According to him, such workers make up about 65 percent of the banking workforce, stressing that the bill is intended to promote fairness and equal treatment for Nigerian workers across the sector.
The lawmaker further accused banks of engaging in heinous practices that violate section 7(1) of the Labour Act 2004, which bars employers from keeping workers beyond three months without formally recognising their employment.
Laguda told the lawmakers, “I urge my colleagues to support this bill because it corresponds with the viewpoints of the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Olayemi Cardoso, who said casual and contract staff in Nigerian banks are exposed to poor working conditions.”
He added that banks often use casual and contract arrangements to evade legal and contractual responsibilities, exposing workers to systemic inequality, emotional abuse and mental health challenges.
The bill received unanimous backing after Benjamin Kalu, the deputy speaker, put the matter to a voice vote.
