Sacked truck officers of Dangote Cement Plc. have accused
the company of failing to honour the terms and conditions on which they were
employed.
Amid solidarity songs, the aggrieved workers stormed the
company’s head office at the Union Marble House on Alfred Rewane Road, Falomo,
Ikoyi, Lagos, on Thursday to protest against the alleged contract breach.
They said the company had, through an advertisement in April
2015, engaged them to manage a truck each, with a promise that each worker
would be entitled to N60,000 per month, N90,000 performance bonus, monthly 30
per cent of annual salaries as medical allowance and go with the truck managed
after meeting a mileage of 400,000 kilometres.
A truck officer was expected to supervise a driver, monitor
the loading and delivery of goods, as well as the condition of the vehicle,
among others.
The workers said after they resumed work in May, 2015 the company increased the number of
trucks under their supervision to six to an officer without a commensurate
increase in their salaries, lamenting that the company paid the bonus once
before the sudden termination of their appointment on February 4, 2017.
Displaying placards with inscriptions such as, ‘Dangote
deceived us into fraudulent scheme and unilaterally cancelled the scheme,’ and
‘Dangote, pay our unpaid performance bonuses now,’ among others, the protesters
submitted a petition, stating their demands to the company.
The petition read in part, “On Saturday, February 4, 2017,
we were suddenly summoned by our management via Whatsapp to report to the plant
for a very important meeting. To our surprise, armed military and policemen
were stationed at strategic positions on the premises. It was then that they
started distributing termination letters, forcing us to submit our identity
cards and other company belongings. Despite the hard work put into the company,
we were treated like common criminals.
“Since the management broke the agreement by terminating our
appointment without notice as stated in the original contract papers, each of
us is entitled to compensation of not less than a month salary in lieu of
notice. All our performance bonuses should be paid multiplied by the number of
trucks managed by each truck officer immediately. Our salary should be
multiplied by the number of trucks managed by each truck officer on a monthly
basis. The company should pay the outstanding balance of our bonuses.
“Our 30 per cent medical allowance should be paid in line
with the number of trucks managed. The management should enter into negotiation
with workers to either give the trucks to the workers or pay compensation in
lieu of the trucks and issue a written apology to the workers for the
harassment and victimisation.”
The Chairman of the truck officers, Abubakar Ibrahim, said
the workers would sustain the protest until their demands were met. He stated
that 800 graduate workers deployed in Dangote’s factories at Ibeshe and Obajana
were affected.
“We were employed on the agreement to meet 400,000
kilometres mileage and go home with a truck. As soon as we were engaged, they
started changing the rules. After two weeks of work, the agreement was changed
to an offer of appointment that came with different sets of conditions.
“But one thing that was constant in the agreement was that a
truck officer would manage one truck at any given time. After two weeks, the one
truck was increased to four trucks with no commensurate increase in the
payment. By September, it was increased to six trucks per person to manage.
They promised bonus but they paid once,” he added.
A worker, Niyi Ogunniran, a graduate of political science,
who was recruited in September 2016, said he spent a lot to relocate his family
to Dangote factory’s host town, Ibeshe, Ogun State, where he was posted.
He said, “Majority of us left where we were working before.
I was a radio presenter. I resigned because of this scheme. We were employed to
manage a truck and own the truck after it covers 400,000 kilometres so that we
can be self-employed.”
Ufere Ikenna, a graduate of Economics, said, “We know the
importance of being an entrepreneur. We know what we need to drive the economy
today is entrepreneurship. That was what prompted me to leave my previous job
and join the company. Since I resumed for work on May 13, I was only paid
N43,000 bonus once.”
The Publicity Secretary, Campaign for Democratic and Workers’
Rights, Chinedu Bosa, urged labour movements in the country to come to the aid
of the workers.
He said. “In a humiliating and demeaning manner, the
management called all the workers, and forced them to sign disengagement
letters which were not earlier disclosed to them. That conduct is in violation
of the rights of the workers. We are calling on the Nigeria Labour Congress,
United Labour Congress, and Trade Union Congress to come to the aid of the
workers.”
The lawyer for the protesters, Ayo Ademiluyi, said the
company’s conduct violated extant laws of principle of contract and asked the
management to implement the agreement to the letter.
“Business cannot be run on the basis of deceiving the
public. You cannot make an offer that you won’t honour to the world; people
left their means of livelihood and families to commit themselves to this
agreement. The company cannot breach the agreement unilaterally at this time,”
he added.
The Group Head, Corporate Communications, Dangote Group,
Tony Chiejina, who addressed the protesters, promised that the management would
hold a meeting with their representatives.
He said, “The demands are here; we will look at them and on
Monday, we will meet.”
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