A Professor of Industrial Sociology at the University of Ibadan, Emeka Okafor, on Thursday, attributed the high unemployment rates in Nigeria to the emergence of cheap and surplus labor, mostly exploited by work organizations across various sectors.

Okafor noted that non-standard workers, such as casual workers, “due to their fluid and precarious employment status, find themselves being marginalized and exploited by employers, supervisors, and regular workers in the organizational setting, especially if we consider organizations as a system where multiple actors operate.”

He noted that because casual or non-standard workers are not able to unionize, they face grievous and precarious working conditions in Nigeria. He urged the federal and state governments to enforce labor laws to protect casual workers from exploitation.

Okafor stated this while presenting the University of Ibadan’s 562nd inaugural lecture, entitled “The Periphery Of The Periphery: Exploring The Experiences Of Non-Standard Workers.”

According to Okafor, “with non-standard workers not being able to join trade unions, they may not be able to effectively negotiate with employers for better working conditions, including better pay. They may also not be in a position to access or secure other rights. Therefore, decent work, as advocated by the ILO, may be an ideal, but in practice, it has remained a mockery and a mirage for most workers in non-standard employment relations.”

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To right these wrongs, Professor Okafor tasked Nigerian governments, as the largest single employer of labor, to ensure that “labor standards and regulations to protect workers’ rights and ensure decent work are enforced.”

According to him, “regularizing non-standard workers in government ministries, departments, agencies, and parastatals who are due for such will provide them with stable employment and career advancement opportunities, setting a good example for other stakeholders.”

Apart from this, the university don noted that the government needs to creatively provide job opportunities and reforms aimed at revitalizing the economy, attracting investments, and “strengthening labor inspection mechanisms to enforce compliance with safety standards and provide adequate and timely compensation for workplace injuries and fatalities.”

Professor Okafor also advised the Ministry of Labor and Employment to safeguard workers’ rights and ensure occupational safety by enforcing labor laws and regulations to protect non-standard workers from exploitation and unsafe working conditions. He recommended conducting regular inspections of workplaces to identify and address violations of safety standards, as well as fighting corruption among staff in the Inspectorate Department who may connive with dubious employers to circumvent regulations regarding the treatment of non-standard workers.

He posited that labor unions must pressurize employers to regularize00. non-standard workers and improve their working conditions through collective bargaining agreements.