Emmanuel Thomas, Lagos
July 22, 2015 – Nigerians working for China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) on Wednesday marched on Lagos House, office of the Lagos State Governor, protesting mass sack of over 500 workers, inhuman treatment, high handedness, inability of the organisation to adopt safety measures, unwillingness to compensate both dead and injured workers on duty and unfriendly working environment.
CCECC is engaged by both the Lagos State Government and the Federal Government to work on rail projects in Abuja and Lagos in particular.
The workers who stormed Alausa on foot in their hundreds brandished several placards where they inscribed their grievances.
They argued that they have worked for the company for at least five years either as casual workers or permanent staff and they worked in dangerous condition without safety materials adding that while some of them have incurred permanent incapacitation in the cause of duty without compensation, some of have died. They said they were engaged orally and dismissed orally with just a month’s pay.
They alluded to a situation last year when one of them fell off from a slab and break his waist adding that what CCECC did was pay him N1 million from which the victim had to seek medical treatment.
Speaking in behalf of the workers, Mr. Mark Eze Okila who lost his full right arm in terrifying circumstances working for CCECC said some of the workers were paid as low as N550 per day while the Chinese supervisors who do nothing but answer phone calls and smoke cigarette receive as much as N450,000 monthly.
He said that their appointment was terminated orally adding and are demanding that the CCECC pay them off at agreed rate of N600, 000 per worker and N800, 000 per staff.
In their protest letter to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos, signed by Mr. Mark Eze Okila and Muyideen Ola, the workers said a worker (labourer) earns N550 per day while a workman earns just N850 per day.
“We also have serious problems in safety and matters that always cause lots of accidents in the sites of the company. You will be given appointment without any safety induction certification and at the same time they give you work to do without any safety gadgets and that has been leading many workers to injuries of permanent disability and others even death in the process of working and nothing serious will be done about them,
“Now, it has comes to a point that the company is dropping its workers without any benefit after working with them for years, without any explanation to use as a backup. So we are seeking your opinion for justice to be done over these matter for citizen’s right”, the workers said in their petition.
While receiving the workers in behalf of the Lagos State Government, Chief of Staff to the governor, Mr. Samuel Olukunle Ojo told the workers that the governor has been holding meeting with General Manager of the Lagos State Metropolitan Area Transport Authority(LAMATA), Mr. Dayo Mobereola and management of CCECC over their issue.
He said that government will soon make some payments to CCEC and that they will be paid. He described the attitude of CCECC to workers as unacceptable, noting that they must be paid.
“If they must continue to get contract from Lagos state government, they must pay you”, he told the workers, and said that they will invited for a meeting with the governor the coming week.
