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China in Africa
Nigeria
- (NOTE: we need to confirm Nigerchin is a Chinese Company) NLC picketing Nigerchin, a leading Chinese wire manufacturer. The strike commenced on 15 June 2006 after the Company tried to force workers to join a union of the Company’s choice. When the workers refused, the Company sacked approximately 100 employees and required them to reapply for their positions. There were a number of other issues that the workers raised during industrial action. Placards held by the workers read: “No to Sunday to Sunday work, Unionisation is our rights, No more casualisation and 121\2 hours works., Nigerchin, give us our rights, restoration of 11% to 15% annual increment, the Personnel manager must go, and Chinese are labour exploiters.”: http://nigerianmasses.com/headline_details.asp?id=10264&stateid=Lagos
- See also:
Adikwu E, “NLC pickets Nigerchin at Last” (http://www.nigeriasolidarity.org /art039.htm 27 Aug 2006
Enoghase, S: “Labour Minister Should Intervene in Anti-worker crisis”, Interview with Rusfus Olusesn, National Vice President o f the National Union of Shop and Distribution Employees at www.independentn gonline. com/?c=82&a=18523
- CWAY Food & Beverages Company and CWAY Nigerian Drinking Water:
The following information is taken from”Chinese firms’ ’dehumanising’ treatment of Nigerian workers’ 2 February 2007, www.nigeriasolidarity.org
”Chinese owned Company CWAY Food and Beverages Company and CWAY Nigerian Drinking Wager has a workforce of 250 including ten managerial staff (two Nigerian and eight Chinese). None of the workers have an employment letter or contract. As such, no worker can claim to be part of the company staff. The monthly minimum wage for the factory workers is 7,000 naira (equivalent to 426 yuan or 42 euros). The Nigerian Managerial Staff earn 50,000 naira (3,077 yuan or 303 euros) monthly, later reduced to N35,000 (2,150 yuan or 212 euros) while their Chinese counterparts take home 700 US dollars (5,420 yuan) monthly not including other allowances like 15,000 naira (914 yuan or 90 euros) per week. While Nigerian managerial staff is paid in the local currency, naira, his/her Chinese counterpart is paid in dollars.
There has never been workers’ union at CWAY. As a result of agitation for a workers’ union, the entire workforce was sacked in October 2005. Up till now, there is no workers’ union in CWAY.
Workers have no rights whatsoever in CWAY. The situation painted above is not peculiar to CWAY, other Chinese companies do same thing like CASCADE waters in Oshodi, Anthony, Lagos; Classic Beverages Company in Amuwo Odofin in Lagos; JINHVA (Welding Company) in Ikotun, Lagos; Viju in Ikeja, Lagos.”
- The West African Rubber Products Company Ltd (WARP), owned by Lee Group of Companies (China), in Ikorodu, Lagos State:
The following information is taken from”Chinese firms’ ’dehumanising’ treatment of Nigerian workers’ 2 February 2007, www.nigeriasolidarity.org
“In September 16, 2002, about 29 workers at West African Rubber Products Company Ltd the company on night duty were roasted alive because they were always locked inside the factory without any outlet in case of emergency. The workers are made to work twelve hours compulsorily with income of less than 70 cents (7 yuan) daily.
As a result of the inferno that led to the death of these workers, the Lagos State Government set up a six-man Panel of Inquiry with Honourable Justice Akinkunmi Holloway as Chairman. In the end, the panel found out that the management did not comply with all relevant rules of the Factories Act and were therefore culpable in the death of these innocent workers.
The panel also found out that all the inspectors of factories in Federal Ministry of Labour who are supposed to see to the fact that all factories’ laws and laws of the land are adhered to are compromised by the Chinese bosses. They bribe the officials who always issue a pass mark certificate or a clean bill of health to their companies. Again, the Nigerian government cares less about the plight of workers. This has allowed the bosses and the Chinese bosses in particular to exploit Nigerian workers with impunity.
Up till now, Lee Group of Companies has yet to implement any of the recommendations of the panel such as compensation to the families of each of the workers who suffered painful deaths, workers who suffered burn injuries and workers who were shot by a member of the Chinese staff. He shot under the guise of scaring away some workers standing by the gate with a crowd when they resumed work only to find out that their colleagues on night duty had been burnt to death.”
- There have been a number of cases in Nigeria where Chinese workers have been taken hostage. See for example : ‘Three more Chinese workers abducted in Nigeria’, China South Morning Post www.china.scmp.com/chitoday/ZZZOSWJO9XE.html , 26 Jan 07
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