FG warns private companies against converting workers to contract staff

The Federal Government on Tuesday warned private organisations against turning their employees into contract staff.

Deputy Director, Employment and Wages in the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Joseph Akpan, gave the warning in Abuja while delivering a paper during a sensitization workshop on labour migration for journalists.

He also noted that asking jobseekers to pay before recruitment flouts the National Policy on Employment.

“Nigerians can report state governments or any private establishments demanding jobseekers to pay a certain amount of money before they are recruited, to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, we’ll do something.

“Our staff are in every State supervising this type of exploitation. In fact, there are some of our reports for last year which we are compiling now for submission,” he said.

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Yerima Tarfa, explained that the COVID-19 pandemic affected the magnitude and characteristics of international labour migration and workplaces globally.

He lamented that the development had caused a lot of disruptions in the world of work and workers’ livelihood globally.(Daily Trust)