The enslavement of the nigerian worker...........a case of airtel nigeria

In an unjust society silence is a crime. It is on the basis of this maxim that I deem it fit to call the attention of all to the enslavement going on in the private sector employment process. Indigenous companies started it and foreign companies aided by Nigerians have taken clues from them.

The labour crisis between Customer Service Agents of Airtel Nigeria and the company has brought to the fore what Nigerian workers are going through in the name of getting a job, not being lazy and making a livelihood legitimately. Priviledge

Since the 8th of July 2011, the Customer Service Agents of Airtel Nigeria have down tools and locked up the company offices in Lagos and Abuja citing poor working conditions as reason for their action. The poor working conditions according to the staff includes the cancellation of their National Health Insurance Scheme, increase in working hours and days, arbitrary reduction in salary, discriminating policy against pregnant women among others.

The case of Airtel Nigeria staff came to limelight because the staff have been stretched to the limit, just like the proverbial goat has been pushed to the wall and as such had to turn to its assailant, Airtel Nigeria. If these Customer Service Agents have not spoken out and embarked on industrial action, their plight would have remained unnoticed.


What exactly is the problem? The problem is not with Airtel Nigeria, it is an insidious system which allows too many chains of middlemen in the recruitment process. Outsourcing or Consulting firms are directly responsible for the inhuman treatment of private sector workers Nigeria. They collaborate with the direct employers of labour to enslave Nigerians. From the banking to the insurance, oil and gas and telecommunication sectors of the Nigerian economy, companies employ less than 25% of their total workforce directly. In the case of Airtel Nigeria, we have two companies between Airtel Nigeria and the Customer Service Agents.

From gathered reports, Airtel Nigeria has contracted Airtel Call Centre, Iganmu to Tech Mahindra. Tech Mahindra also contracted three companies namely HR Index, Bezaleel and CCSNL to recruit staff for the call centre. Tech Mahindra has however claimed that the Airtel Customer Service Agents are neither its employees nor that of Airtel Nigeria but staff of the aforementioned Consulting/Outsourcing firms. Invariably, except the Federal Government through the Ministry of Labour or the National Assembly intervenes aggressively, the Agents could at best be fighting an already lost battle.

It is important that necessary regulatory frameworks are put in place to protect Nigerians from exploitation and enslavement by employers through outsourcing firms. Most of these consulting firms make Nigerians pay for forms for jobs that are not available, conduct interviews and tell job applicants to be checking from time to time after collecting fees ranging from N2, 000 to N5, 000 from them. The Government need to look into the activities of these outsourcing firms. They are exploiting unsuspecting Nigerian graduates, they send unsolicited sms(s), if they are able to get placement for job candidates, they share from the candidate’s salary on monthly basis.

The Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity and Nigerian Labour Congress have waded into the Airtel Nigeria Customer Service Agents and Airtel Nigeria Management face-off and I hope that an amicable agreement that will lead to an improved work conditions for the Agents will be worked out soon. However, there is an urgent need for the Government to be proactive as the situation is not peculiar to Airtel Customer Service Agents alone. There should be an enabling law that will guide third party recruitments so that employees will not be subject of exploitation by both employers and consulting firms.

INJUSTICE TO ONE IS INJUSTICE TO ALL

ALUTA CONTINUA VICTORIA ASERTA