Banks’ Contract Staff Hit 46,235 in Q1 2019

• Banks’ Contract Staff Hit 46,235 in Q1 2019

The number of contract staff in the Nigerian banking sector rose in the first quarter, according to the report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The report showed Nigerian banks have a total number of 46,235 contract staff during the first quarter of the year. This was higher than the 45,238 recorded in the final quarter of 2018 and 32,013 in the corresponding quarter of 2018.

Total employees in Nigerian banks currently stood at 105,017, about 0.33 percent more than the number recorded in the final quarter of 2018.

This means contract staff represents 44 percent of the total employees in the Nigerian banks.

While there was 6.36 percent increase in the total number of banks’ staff, contract staff grew by 2.2 percent.

Nigerian banks continued to rely heavily on contract staff for daily operations while at the same time using them to lower operational cost as they are not entitled to any package at the end of their contract.

Few experts have said banks are taking advantage of the high unemployment rate in the country as most graduates would do anything to survive considering the state of the economy.

This was validated by Nonso Obikili, the Chief Economist at Businessday. He said: “Contract workers are cheaper and easier to fire which is the preferred option for banks. The rising unemployment means the power dynamics between banks and labor has titled towards banks and you can see that in the numbers. It’s not because banks are “evil” but they have serious cost constraints and loan books that are on average not really growing. So they have to look at all options to cut costs. Also, it’s not a “threat to the sector” whatever that means. It’s just a thing.”

However, some financial experts have said because banks are becoming more automated, especially at the operational level, less human inputs are now required. Therefore, only graduates with relevant skill will stay employed in the sector going forward.

Kalu Aja, CEO and Financial expert, AfriSwiss Capital Assets Management Limited, said: “It cost banks less to employ casual staff, and I don’t think the trend will affect the banking industry…the procedures are being automated so less human input. Also means human capital needs a higher skill base to stay employed. Also, Banks are not violating any laws, the workers don’t work for the bank…..but for the outsourcing company. So, the outsourcing company gives them terms and conditions.”

Growing technology adoption across the nation is aiding banks operation as they now require fewer human interaction to carry out key services.

Recently, the National Bureau of Statistics reported that Point of Sales transaction rose in the first quarter of the year to N633.8 billion while bank customers spent over N24 trillion across all the electronic channels during the same period. Meaning, bank customers are now embracing technology because of its convenience and efficiency.