The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), on Wednesday, commenced indefinite picketing of Wizchino Engineering Company Limited over alleged violation of workers’ rights, poor safety standards and lack of basic healthcare facilities, following reports that two workers died at different locations linked to the company.
The congress warned that the action would continue indefinitely and could be escalated to a broader industrial action involving its affiliate unions if the management of the company fails to open negotiations with the National Union of Civil Engineering Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW).
The Acting General Secretary of the NLC, Comrade Benson Upah, who spoke during the protest at the company’s premises, accused the management of stopping workers from unionising and failing to provide defined salary structure and adequate health and safety measures.
Upah declared that any company unwilling to obey the laws of the country should exit the country, warning that the congress would not restrict its response to street protests alone but would also pursue legal action against employers who violate labour laws.
Also speaking, the President of NUCECFWW, Comrade Stephen Okoro, alleged that two workers recently died at separate sites belonging to the company because there were no medical facilities and no emergency healthcare arrangement in place. According to him, the company currently has no registered clinic where workers can seek help during emergencies.
Okoro, who is also Vice President of the NLC and President of the Construction Union for Africa and the Middle East, further alleged that workers were not provided with essential personal protective equipment such as safety boots, helmets and hand gloves, thereby exposing them to occupational hazards.
He explained that the union had made several efforts to ensure compliance, including writing letters to the company, visiting its premises on different occasions and copying relevant government agencies, but said management failed to respond in a meaningful way.
He said the union is demanding recognition of the workers’ right to organise, proper conditions of service, fair pay and adequate welfare provisions, and accused the company of running a hire-and-fire system where workers are employed and dismissed without clear employment terms.
According to Okoro, construction workers deserve the same employment protections and service conditions applicable to other workers in the industry, stressing that the union would not abandon its members until the dispute is resolved.
He said the company operates in a manner where workers are hired today and sacked tomorrow, a practice he said will not be tolerated, and warned that if management refuses to engage the union, members will resume at the premises the next day and run shifts with the company until it does the needful, insisting they will not leave until the right thing is done.
On his part, the Deputy General Secretary of the NLC, Comrade Bello Ismail, said the large turnout of workers from affiliated unions at the protest showed the resolve of the labour movement to defend the rights of employees of the company. He stated that workers have the right to join a trade union, negotiate their employment conditions and engage in collective bargaining, noting that these rights are protected under Nigerian labour laws and international instruments.
He described the workers as not being slaves, emphasising that they have the right to belong to the Construction Workers Union and to bargain over their work conditions, and warned that denying them such rights would amount to exploitation. He said the matter has become a collective concern for the entire labour movement, which is why members of various NLC affiliates joined the protest in solidarity and will continue to push for the fundamental rights of colleagues in the company.
Also speaking, tbe General Secretary of NUCECFWW, Comrade Ibrahim Walama, also vowed that the union will sustain the action until the company agrees to respect workers’ rights, saying if the company does not get tired of mistreating Nigerian workers, the union will not get tired of fighting for them, and no company should be allowed to disregard the laws of the country.
