Workers of Daewoo Construction Limited, engaged at the Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company (KRPC), have staged a protest within the refinery premises against what they described as “suppression and denial” of their rights by the company’s management.
The workers, under the aegis of the National Union of Civil Engineering, Construction, Furniture, and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), accused Daewoo of preventing them from unionising, depriving them of employment benefits, and unfairly terminating contracts without recourse to due process.
The workers are also protesting over the sacking of 30 workers without justification, worrying that more job losses were imminent if unionism was not enforced.
Carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Attack on workers’ rights, an attack on the nation,” “Membership of the union is workers’ right,” and “Daewoo Construction Ltd., obey the law! Respect workers’ freedom of association,” the protesters demanded immediate recognition of their union and better working conditions.
Speaking during the protest, the Senior Deputy General Secretary and Head of Industrial Relations at NUCECFWW, Comrade Ayo Balogun, said the union had made several attempts to engage Daewoo on the matter but received no response.
“We have been trying to unionise these workers for nearly four years, but the management has ignored our letters, even when we copied all relevant authorities,” he said.
The Vice Chairperson of the NLC in Kaduna, Comrade Martha Haruna, who stood in for the state chairman, described the situation as “demonisation of workers.”
“The workers are being suppressed. They are not allowed to join a union, and their welfare is neglected. When there’s a need for an update in welfare, the management refuses to act,” she said.
Haruna said efforts to engage Daewoo’s management in dialogue had proved fruitless, leaving workers with no choice, but to protest.
Also speaking, the Kaduna NLC Youth leader, Comrade Ibrahim Dodo Enoch, said the workers had every right to belong to a union, arguing that a lack of representation “leaves them vulnerable to unfair treatments.”
“You cannot just be sheep without a shepherd. When you have a union that is how you can bargain for your rights.
“Currently, there are nearly 300 workers under Daewoo, and they have already sacked 30. Without a union, who will fight for them?” he asked.