Labour Union Raise The Alarm Over Continuous Remote Work

Following continuous use of remote working system after COVID-19 lockdown, organised labour has condemned efforts to perpetuate remote work by employers of labour.

Most employers, who engaged most of their workers through remote working system, they said, are now hiding under the current inaffordability of diesel which is the major means of fueling generators, to subject their workers to stay and work from home.

Speaking with LEADERSHIP, the president, Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI), Comrade Oyinkan Olasanoye called on workers to train themselves and adapt to the current business operating reality where IT is driving business operations. This, she said, was to avoid falling as victims to retrenchment that could take place over digitalisation.

Noting that the Nigerian laws on employment, though not speaking on advent of digitalisation period, Olasanoye noted that, most workers in banking industry are yet to fully go back to office after the lockdown.

She noted that “the harsh business environment whereby most banks have not been able to cope with operational cost because of lack of electricity and high cost of diesel, for now, remote working is inevitable.”

Likewise, the national president of National Union of Food, Beverages and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE), Comrade Lateef Oyelekan, expressed his fear over use of robot which is making digitalisation another threat to workers’ promotion.

He said, he is not pleased with practice whereby most working are now working from home after COVID-19 lockdown.

“Redundancy would be easily carried out as more and more employers are now into use of robots. In time past, our food and beverage used to have many hands as factory workers.

“When machines were installed, they gradually reduced workforce, as we were trying to fight against replacing human beings with robots came the pandemic lockdown whereby most companies used that as opportunity to embark on use of robots at the detriment of millions of unemplyed hands,” he pointed out.