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Global Infrastructure owes workers N59.5m
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National Iron Ore Minning Company (NIOMCO), Itakpe, workers have been on work to rule action to protest the non payment of December and January salaries as well as the vandalism of equipment at Itakpe.
Addressing journalist after an in-house briefing with the House of Representtatives committee on power and steel, the chairman and Secretary of the union, Sheidu Abdulhakeem and Ibrahim Umaru, said the over N59.5 million was for pension and cooperative society remittance which the company had refused to pay since August last year.
Sheidu said in addition to the non payment of pension and cooperative remitance to pension fund and cooperative societies, GINL has refused to pay union dues of workers deducted from their slary to the unions.
“A situation where you can not define when you get your salary and when you receive it everything goes into settlement of debt. Its only when you have pay day that you can plan. this has been lingering right from on set and we have been looking for ways to settle it. In September last year, this case was brought before the Minister of Labour. He proposed that if 7th of the month was not okay with GINL let’s make it 10th of the preceeding monthbut unfortunately they had never fulfilled this agreement for one month. As at now GINL has not paid our December 2007 salary” he said.
According to him, the present crises in Takpe was not just on non payment of salary but the major part of it is that GINL is trying to the workers out of job in the sense that they have embarked on the canibalisation of the plant and minning equipment.
He said this is why the workers decided to cry out because delay can be dagerous.
“If we decide to remain silent, even the salary that is being delayed before it is paid will come to a time that it would not be paid at all. posterity will not forgive us if we allow these Indians to bring Itakpe to a halt because we are stakehlders in this matter and our children will ask us what did you do when these are happening that is why we are crying out now” he said.
Sheidu said the fear of the workers is that Itakpe steel may end the way of Nigeria Railway Corporation and Jebba Paper Mill.
The Chairman noted that these two companies were grounded by Indian firms who were appointed to manage the.
On the allegation that the workers were shut out of the company and their car keys seized, Sheidu said this was done for the safety of the Indians because of the aggrieved casual workers.
He said the union will not want a sitaution where the casual workers who have no record with the company will attack any of the Indians and go away.
“We have a responsibility to protect these people even though we are aggrieved. We are responsible people and we would not want a situation whereby any one of them will be hurt or injured in any way. We told them to stay away from work and remain in their homes, but they keep loitering around. any of the casual workers can attack them and this is what we would not want to happen at all. So we took the key from them and keep it in the drivers pool just for their own safety. let me also correct the impression that we are also on strike, no we are not on strike what we are doing is work to rule, we come to work but not doing anything. we are there to protect the plant and provide security for the place that is all” said Sheidu.
But the President Business Development of Global steel Holdings Limited, Sunil Manwati dismissed the allegation of the workers on vandalisation as untrue.
He said what the company has done is to take one equipment to another to make the palnt work.
According to him, since government has failed to roduce the drawing of the plant t the company the onus is on the management to make it work.
“And that is what we have been doing. Is that what they call vandalisation, to make sure that the machine work we have to take one part from here and put it there to work because we don’t have the drawings of the palnt. Government promised to give it to us but up till today we don’t have it” said Sunil.
On the late payment of salary Sunil said there are records to show that the company has been paying the workers regularly except in the last four or five months that they have delay in payment and they are making efforts to ensure that their salaries are paid.
He begged the worers to save the management of the trouble politics saying they are in Nigeria to do business.
“The way things are going we have not had enough time to concentrate for business. we want to appeal to the people that if they have genuine interest of the country at heart they should allow us to work. This is a sector that many have comdemed to death and we are trying our best to revive it. At least no one can say that the plant is not working now but we need peace to put in our best” he said.
Addressing journalist after an in-house briefing with the House of Representtatives committee on power and steel, the chairman and Secretary of the union, Sheidu Abdulhakeem and Ibrahim Umaru, said the over N59.5 million was for pension and cooperative society remittance which the company had refused to pay since August last year.
Sheidu said in addition to the non payment of pension and cooperative remitance to pension fund and cooperative societies, GINL has refused to pay union dues of workers deducted from their slary to the unions.
“A situation where you can not define when you get your salary and when you receive it everything goes into settlement of debt. Its only when you have pay day that you can plan. this has been lingering right from on set and we have been looking for ways to settle it. In September last year, this case was brought before the Minister of Labour. He proposed that if 7th of the month was not okay with GINL let’s make it 10th of the preceeding monthbut unfortunately they had never fulfilled this agreement for one month. As at now GINL has not paid our December 2007 salary” he said.
According to him, the present crises in Takpe was not just on non payment of salary but the major part of it is that GINL is trying to the workers out of job in the sense that they have embarked on the canibalisation of the plant and minning equipment.
He said this is why the workers decided to cry out because delay can be dagerous.
“If we decide to remain silent, even the salary that is being delayed before it is paid will come to a time that it would not be paid at all. posterity will not forgive us if we allow these Indians to bring Itakpe to a halt because we are stakehlders in this matter and our children will ask us what did you do when these are happening that is why we are crying out now” he said.
Sheidu said the fear of the workers is that Itakpe steel may end the way of Nigeria Railway Corporation and Jebba Paper Mill.
The Chairman noted that these two companies were grounded by Indian firms who were appointed to manage the.
On the allegation that the workers were shut out of the company and their car keys seized, Sheidu said this was done for the safety of the Indians because of the aggrieved casual workers.
He said the union will not want a sitaution where the casual workers who have no record with the company will attack any of the Indians and go away.
“We have a responsibility to protect these people even though we are aggrieved. We are responsible people and we would not want a situation whereby any one of them will be hurt or injured in any way. We told them to stay away from work and remain in their homes, but they keep loitering around. any of the casual workers can attack them and this is what we would not want to happen at all. So we took the key from them and keep it in the drivers pool just for their own safety. let me also correct the impression that we are also on strike, no we are not on strike what we are doing is work to rule, we come to work but not doing anything. we are there to protect the plant and provide security for the place that is all” said Sheidu.
But the President Business Development of Global steel Holdings Limited, Sunil Manwati dismissed the allegation of the workers on vandalisation as untrue.
He said what the company has done is to take one equipment to another to make the palnt work.
According to him, since government has failed to roduce the drawing of the plant t the company the onus is on the management to make it work.
“And that is what we have been doing. Is that what they call vandalisation, to make sure that the machine work we have to take one part from here and put it there to work because we don’t have the drawings of the palnt. Government promised to give it to us but up till today we don’t have it” said Sunil.
On the late payment of salary Sunil said there are records to show that the company has been paying the workers regularly except in the last four or five months that they have delay in payment and they are making efforts to ensure that their salaries are paid.
He begged the worers to save the management of the trouble politics saying they are in Nigeria to do business.
“The way things are going we have not had enough time to concentrate for business. we want to appeal to the people that if they have genuine interest of the country at heart they should allow us to work. This is a sector that many have comdemed to death and we are trying our best to revive it. At least no one can say that the plant is not working now but we need peace to put in our best” he said.
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