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The Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) has charged the Federal Government and employers of labour to urgently end the casualisation of labour, improve workers’ welfare and guarantee decent work across Nigeria.
Acting president of ASSBIFI, Fanimokun Isaac Adesina, made the call on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, while delivering his address at the association’s commemoration of the World Day for Decent Work at the ASSBIFI Events Centre, Alausa-Ikeja, Lagos.
Adesina said ASSBIFI had continued to commemorate the World Day for Decent Work annually because it regards decent work as a vehicle for advancing workers’ rights, social justice, peace, harmony and democracy.
He said this year’s theme, “Young Workers Organizing for the Future,” was particularly relevant to the challenges confronting trade unionism and the changing world of work.
According to him, the future of employment has already arrived, with artificial intelligence, digitalisation, automation, the platform economy, algorithmic management and outsourcing rapidly transforming workplaces. He warned that trade unions and workers must prepare for these changes rather than wait until technological disruption has displaced large numbers of workers.
Adesina expressed concern over what he described as the growing displacement of permanent employment by casual, contract and outsourced jobs in the banking, insurance and financial sectors. He said graduates with degrees and professional qualifications were increasingly being employed under conditions without pensions, health insurance, job security or collective bargaining rights.
“This is not only indecent work, but modern-day slavery,” Adesina declared, particularly criticising situations where workers were allegedly pressured to surrender their freedom of association rights as a condition of employment.
The ASSBIFI leader urged employers and management in the financial sector to respect workers’ constitutional right to freedom of association and relevant International Labour Organization conventions. He specifically called for compliance with ILO Conventions 87 on freedom of association, 98 on collective bargaining and 158 on termination of employment.
He also demanded an end to what he described as inadequate wages, insisting that Nigerian workers deserved salaries capable of supporting a decent standard of living. “The worker deserves living wages, not the seventy thousand Naira stipend that does not take the worker to the bus-stop,” he said, calling for wages and social protection that would guarantee workers dignity during and after their employment.
Adesina called on the Federal Government to urgently reduce the burden of rising food, transportation, healthcare, housing and education costs.
He described as unacceptable a situation where the minimum wage could not adequately feed an average family or meet basic housing needs. “Workers are not slaves; we must be treated with the dignity that decent work reflects,” he stressed.
The union leader also warned that technological advancement could displace workers who fail to acquire new skills. He urged workers to develop digital competencies and understand emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and robotics, in order to remain productive and relevant in the evolving workplace.
On trade unionism, Adesina said workers could not effectively confront powerful employers individually, stressing that collective action remained the strongest weapon available to employees. “Together we bargain, divided we beg,” he declared, urging workers to remain united in defending their rights and improving their conditions of service.
The ASSBIFI president further called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and other regulatory agencies to make compliance with decent-work standards a corporate governance requirement for organisations operating in the country.
He demanded an urgent review of Section 12(4) of the Trade Union Act, which he said had been abused by some employers to threaten, persuade or discourage workers from joining trade unions. According to him, workers should be free to join unions of their choice without victimisation, intimidation or other forms of pressure.
Adesina also called for the immediate renewal of the ASSBIFI Sector-Wide Collective Bargaining Agreement, which he said had been due since 2007. He accused management and employers in the banking, insurance and financial sectors of frustrating efforts to renew the agreement and urged all parties to return to the negotiating table.
He equally appealed to employers to restore gratuity payments to deserving employees, describing gratuity as a deserved reward for years of service. He also urged the Federal Government to ratify ILO Convention 158 on termination of employment, arguing that its principles were already being recognised and applied by Nigerian courts in labour disputes.
Concluding his address, Adesina called for collective action by workers, unions, employers and government to build a more equitable labour environment. “United we can change our story, united we can influence government policies, united we can ensure decent work. Unity is our strength; decent work is our right,” he said.
