By Chisom Onuoha
Protesting members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Wednesday disallowed work activities at the premises of the Shaanxi Construction Engineering Group Corporation, a Chinese construction company constructing the new headquarters of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) located at Lugbe in Abuja.
NLC further said the protest was against what it described as dehumanizing conditions of work the Nigerian workers are subjected to by the Chinese company. The organised labour added that its mission is to liberate the workers at the construction company who it says are under slavery working condition.
The Chinese company initially resisted protesting NLC leadership and its picketing team entrance to the company premises but later opened the gate and received the complaint of the workers’ union.
The management of the construction company did not speak on the protest or respond to the allegations raised by NLC.
Chinese government had undertaken to build the new ECOWAS Secretariat as part of aid package to the West African countries’ organization.
Addressing the protesting workers, General Secretary of NLC, Comrade Emma Ugboaja lamented an alleged inhuman treatment meted to the workers at the construction site.
He said that the Congress responded to complaint by the Federal Capital Teritory (FCT) chapter of the construction workers union over bad working conductions at the construction site.
According to Ugboaja the Chinese company engaged the workers on adhoc basis with no conditions of service attached nor any welfare or medical services in place.
He regretted that due to the deplorable work conditions at the place, one of the workers, a driver, Mr. Augustine died out of neglect and lack of timely medical attention.
Ugboaja said that while the picketing action continued, the leadership of labour hopes to engage the management of Shaanxi Construction Engineering Group Corporation in discussion to address the concerns of their workers.
Regarding the demise of the driver, Ugboaja said: ” Mrs. Ruth Augustine migrated with her husband and family to Abuja to come and earn a living. Now the man in an aid to help build ECOWAS a Secretariat has ended up six feet down, leaving his poor widow to face the vagaries of life, no pension, no gratuity, no food, no water and no explanation, where will help come from. “Everyday we plead with government to provide minimal social security net, to no avail. That is the challenge we have. This challenge is real,” he said.
Ugboaja said that contrary to critics who accuse labour of crying wolves where there are none, the widow of the deceased was present to tell the story of the urgly experience of her late husband.
Narrating her ordeal, Ruth said her husband secured a job last year as a driver with Chinese company, but that the condition he was given does not allow him to come home after work.
“He will work from Monday till Sunday . I asked him whether they give him bonus for the overtime and extra work he was doing. He said no. My husband will work from morning till night with no food and he will not be allowed to come home. Even when he comes home, he will not stay up to an hour before hurrying back the site, the woman said.
Ruth said that after the husband returned to work in January after Christmas festivities, he stayed back for two months at the company without visiting home. However, Mrs. Augustine said she became worried and called him.
“From the conversation, I knew he was very sick”.
According to her, the company failed to take her husband to the hospital and still did not allow him go home for treatment.
“When they eventually permitted him to go home, his situation has worsened. He was having swollen neck and looking highly malnourished”, she said.
The woman said she took her husband to the Gwagwalada Teaching Hospital in Abuja and later to the National Hospital where he passed on.
In all these ordeal, Mrs Augustine said the Chinese company failed to heed her pleas for assistance. Instead the company gave her a termination letter for her husband.
Meanwhile, NLC plan to continue the picketing action until the Chinese construction firm agrees to imbibe favorable conditions for workers.
A statement to that effect by its Head of Information, Comrade Benson Upah, partly reads; “The 2nd day of picketing of the Shaanxi Construction Company, continues tomorrow, Thursday, 22/06.”
The address remains same, New ECOWAS Secretariat, Lugbe by Dunamis Church, Airport Road.
