I saw the thread on "Zenith Bank Contract Staffing - Destroying the Future of Nigerian Graduates" on FP and felt the need to create this thread as a reply thread instead of a reply post. The thread in question is over a year old so its OP may not see this anyway, I guess the Mod who took it to front page mistook the date for Jan 14 2016.it was started Jan 14 2015.
My reply thread addresses contract staff issue beyond the zenith bank case presented in the above mentioned thread.
To start with a contract staff is made aware of the terms of his/her "contract" relationship with the employer (Zenith Bank), he/she knew what the contract entails before agreeing to it, so any issue of complain will always refer back to the initial agreement binding the contract staff and the employer(Zenith Bank).
As a contract staff, you are a contractor and should be treated as one. Most of the complain of discrimination against contract staff is easily dissolved by this simple fact.
A conventional contractor who handles painting and building repairs or production of souvenir for the employer (Zenith) normally wouldn't see himself as being entitled to end of year bonus, housing allowee or car loans. The case of the contract staff is like that of a thirsty journey man who always finds himself passing through a lonely road with a big and rich home. After some journey he 'applies' or begs for water and after being given a half-full giant cup of water a couple of times, goes on and start comparing his cup of water to those of the inhabitant of the rich and big home, and then goes on to complain about his own cup always being half-empty even though the cup size makes up for its relative emptiness.
The rich and big home is Zenith Bank here, the half-filled cup is the contract staff working condition at initial employment stage and the half-empty cup is his working condition after seeing the cup of water of the rich & big home inhabitants.
As a contract staff you are a contractor who has to be integrated into the banking system for your work's sake. The bank can't allow you come in and work on a freelance basis. They must make sure you conform in appearance to the banks professional staff in order to maintain their presentation standard. Also there are security implications for having a contract staff roaming free without bonds etc. so i expect every contract staff to understand their helping-hand status in the organisation they find themselves. The same reason most contract staff feel cheated is the same reason most student discriminate against private school graduates. Most people feel cheated being deprived of the freedom to behave like in a open campus and so see private school graduates as soft and immatute for accepting to be in such schools. Well, similar condition that made some embrace private school system against their wish and endure all its associated stigmatization is what made those contract staff accept the working condition in the first place.
The contract staff cause for concern should be in the event of his initial working condition being adjusted by actions not previously agreed. A good example should be the case of the contract staff being transferred to branch that makes him spend more on transport. This action of the employer inconveniences the contract staff in a new way and to a harsher degree.
My advise to all contract staff is that they go for certifications as the occasion permits and used it in addition to their working experience to boost their future employement and independence prospects.
Thanks for your time.