Civil servants groan under alleged unfriendly labour practices
[FILES] Sanwo-Olu. Photo/FACEBOOK/ jidesanwooluofficial
Although several civil servants employed by the Lagos State government have been in service for about two or three years, their employment is yet to be confirmed. Many older civil servants also told The Guardian that their employments were only confirmed two or three years after they got enlisted into the civil service.
Lagos State’s economy is said to be the fifth largest in Africa. So, with this status and many more, it is expected that the civil service that fosters smooth running of government operations is appreciated and treated with commensurate dignity. Again, since the private sector dominates activities in the state, it is expected that Lagos civil service operates almost like the private sector, if not fully so.
Ironically, however, this is far from being the case. Aside the fact that it takes such a long time for Lagos civil servants to get validated, whereas six months is the average recommended period for confirmation in the private sector, the state government has compounded the issue by compelling civil servants to part with a fee of N10, 000 to get confirmed. And though the fee is for writing an examination prelude to getting confirmed, non-payment of the sum denies the candidate validation and the benefits that come with it. This is because without writing the examination, confirmation of employment is impossible.
Some civil servants, who volunteered information about the state government’s action, do not want their names in print, due to the likelihood of being victimised for divulging such information.
One of the aggrieved workers said: “I quite agree that an officer must stay for a certain probationary period before confirmation. However, payment of the fee remains a question they must answer. This payment started about three years ago. Before then, only junior officers sat for confirmation exam, but now, all newly recruited officers must sit for the exam within two years of their appointment.”
Another pained worker said: “It is not logical to wait for two years to be confirmed; it is too long a time and now, the government is introducing an indirect fee for confirmation of employment.”
The standard rule in the private sector is that an employee becomes a full staff through confirmation of his employment after six months of being recruited by an organisation. But Lagos, which ordinarily should be a beacon of hope for standard civil service engagement, especially as it prides its civil service as the most vibrant in Nigeria, is not toeing this path.
Shedding light on the issue, Barrister Solomon Okedara said in the private sector, it is not standard that employment is confirmed in six months, as some are confirmed after just three months. He, nonetheless, noted that the contract of employment often determines the confirmation time, which is why when someone in the private sector tells a lawyer that his or her employment has been terminated, the first thing the lawyer asks for is the contract of employment that usually clarifies the terms.
And while Okedara was not really against writing an examination for confirmation, he felt paying for such is simply not proper.
He said: “Am I pleased with two years confirmation period? If you set up a company, and you want to employ, you ordinarily subject the prospective employees to a recruitment process, which is the writing of an exam. When they get in, within six months, you observe them and the supervising manager gives a feedback on their capacity. Sometimes, you may have to subject them to further examination. And in this situation, I do not think anything is wrong in subjecting them to examination. Oftentimes, it is more difficult to assess people in public service than in private sector. I want to believe that the payment for the exam is actually not proper.”
Barrister Lekan Alabi also noted that before an employer would engage an employee, the condition of service would be well spelt out. So, if an employee agrees to the condition of service, it means there is a consensus between the employer and the employee.
“If the agreement was two-year probation period before the employment is confirmed, after two years, the law deemed it that the employment is confirmed,” he explained. “If after two years the employee has been with the employer, a fresh condition was now introduced to the effect that before he/she could be confirmed, he/she needed to write a qualifying exam, that is contrary to the earlier agreement. In the eyes of the law, the new introduction of examination for confirmation is void, because it is contrary to why they were together before the government employed them.
“The law is so clear about that, because it did not state that upon writing a qualifying examination before confirmation. The question is: what has happened in the two years that he or she has been in the service? When you are in the service, the law presumes that you are working and when you are working, you are rendering service and when you are rendering service, it means that you do not need any exam again for employment to be confirmed. If you have worked in a place for two years and you are still doing a qualifying exam, when you are not a fresher, the interpretation I would give to that kind of obnoxious condition is that the government does not want to employ the persons.
“Government is engaging in cheap labour. After using the workers for two years, they send them away and bring in another set of people, use them for two years and send them away again. The reason they are doing that is because there is surplus labour in Nigeria today. It is very sad that it is Lagos State government that is introducing a qualifying exam for workers. It is sad that we do not have hope in Nigeria. We are supposed to be complaining about private labour practices, as government is supposed to be for the people. The cornerstone of government should be the people’s welfare. So, what is the basis of the introduction of examination, a new rule, when you have got to the middle of the game? I think it is a strategy to ensure that the people are sent out of work to bring in another set of workers, so that the state will not be liable to pay pension and other benefits, which is casual labour.
“It is another casualisation of labour, when the government of Lagos, of all states, bring in workers, use them for two years, send them away in the name of qualifying exam. It should be condemned. It is illegal and against international labour practices to bring people on certain terms of employment and introduce another terms before you confirm their labour. It is an unfair labour practice.
“What they are saying is that the two years the workers had been working for them do not count; that the workers are not competent. They can be indicted. Such practice cannot be defended. If it is challenged, it is going to be nullified, as the law has moved beyond servant-master relationship. The law will always look at the justice of the case; that one, after employing someone, what is the importance of the qualifying exam to be able to do the same job and not another job entirely, that he applied for ab initio? No reasonable law will side the government. What can be supported is promotion exam and not qualifying exam for somebody that is already working. Looking at it critically, it is inequitable, unjust, unfair and condemnable.”
Responding on behalf of the Civil Service Commission, the Public Relations Officer of the commission, Mrs. Wunmi Seriki, said the Public Service Rules (PSR) guide the commission’s operations. She explained that while the probation period was not stated in the appointment letter, the appointment letter said officers would comply with Public Service Rules and other government instructions.
“And on the confirmation of appointment, PSR 020301 states the period of probation and the rules stipulate officers on probation will be required to serve for two years before being confirmed in service. PSR 020304 further states that the probationary period shall last a maximum of two years, unless the Civil Service Commission or any other body approves an extension. PSR 020302 states that within the probationary period, an officer is required to pass prescribed examination appropriate to its appointment. And a Head of Service circular further supported this rule,” she said.
On if the rule expects workers to pay for the confirmation examination, Seriki said: “I will only answer the part that has to do with the commission, which has never at any point requested for money for confirmation of appointment. The commission is responsible for the confirmation of appointment, but not for the conduct of examination.”
The Lagos State Examination Board conducts the confirmation examination. Addressing the issue of payment to write examination, the Director, Examination Board, Mr. Supo Gbadegesin, said civil servants that are not happy with the process should write officially to the government to complain. “It is the normal thing. Nobody collected money from them directly or illegally from the examination board, as they pay into government coffers through the banks and they get receipts for it.”
He, however, declined further comments on other issues raised.
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