In a bid to reposition the employment framework to assure better opportunities for indigenes and residents of Bonny Local Government Area, the Bonny Legislative Assembly has kick-started the process of reviewing the extant employment laws in the area.

They resolved at plenary today to hold a public lecture soon to capture public opinion and input of relevant stakeholders in the amendment process of the Bonny Local Government Employment Bylaw.

In her speech after a lengthy deliberation where her colleagues made critical inputs advocating for the review of the bylaw, Leader of the Bonny Legislative Assembly, Rt. Hon. Miriam Hart urged the lawmakers to expand the scope of their research into current trends in extant labour laws and global best practices as it relates to legislating an employment law that would be beneficial to all.

Hart, who is also the Councillor representing Ward 7, expressed appreciation on the profound efforts made by the lawmakers to aggregate the underlying issues affecting employment in the area, and their erudite contributions to the plenary session, noting that such disposition was critical to legislating for the benefit of the people they represent.

Speaking earlier, the Deputy Leader of the Assembly, Hon. Dipinye Jumbo drew the attention of the house to the fact that the Bonny Integrated Recruitment Centre (BIRC) was in dire and urgent need of a working template to give direction and tract to its operations. 

Jumbo, who is the Councillor representing Ward 4, observed that it was necessary for the BIRC and the Employment Monitoring Committee of the Bonny Local Government Council to have clear-cut understanding on the modalities guiding their operations and interactions to avoid any conflicts in the course of discharging their duties.

Earlier, the Councillor representing Ward 12, Hon. Solomon Pollyn, who brought the motion for the repealing of the extant law and replacing it with a new law that captures the yearnings and aspirations of the people, proposed that there should be stakeholder-driven process of engaging the executives of the BIRC and the Employment Monitoring Committee, a remuneration schedule for officials of the BIRC and the Employment Monitoring Committee, and provision of working tools, operational vehicles, and other resources to aid the operations of both bodies.

Pollyn, who is the Chairman, Public Relations Committee of the Bonny Legislative Assembly, further proposed that sanctions such as establishment of a mobile court, one to two months imprisonment for defaulters of the employment laws, and blacklisting of erring companies should be captured in the new law to ensure compliance.    

Other lawmakers who added their voice to the debate were the Councillors representing Ward 1, Hon. Christian Jumbo, Ward 2, Hon. Kingston Robert, Ward 3, Hon. Fiberesima Pepple, Ward 6, Hon. Esther Pepple, Ward 10, Hon. Seth Lazarus, and Ward 11, Hon. Ibinye Wilcox.

They pointed out the timeliness of the review process, applauded Hon. Pollyn for the initiative and thoughtfulness, demanded that the law should empower officials of the Employment Monitoring Committee access to every work site in Bonny LGA, and review of the leadership of all labour unions in Bonny, and called for a transparent process of recruitment requisitions and induction for members of the monitoring committee.