Saving Nigerians from foreign employers – Punch

The issue of inhumane conditions that some foreign firms subject their Nigerian employees to is back in public consciousness. The reported deaths of two factory hands and injury to others at the Hongxing Steel Company, Lagos, allegedly due to lax safety standards, should provoke our lukewarm public officials to action to protect workers and check the rampant abuse of expatriate quotas.

According to reports, one Emeka Umoh died last week when he was accidentally drenched in liquid steel at the Amuwo Odofin-based Chinese factory. Other workers said another worker, Adebayo Ajiboye, had died earlier in February this year when he was crushed by a compressing machine at the same factory. Labour activists allege similar cases of deaths and permanent injury to workers at the factory which smelts scrap iron into steel products. Amid accusations that the Chinese managers lock in the staff, humiliate and deny workers adequate safety, compensation and permanent employment, a company spokesman dismissed these as “just rumours.”

But the death some years ago of over 100 workers at a factory in Ikorodu, Lagos State, was not a rumour. The charred bodies of the victims, who had been locked in and therefore could not escape when fire and smoke enveloped the factory floor were enough evidence that, in many respects, Nigeria is an ungoverned space. The hundreds of casual workers who are locked in by their Chinese employer at an artificial hair products factory on Agege-Iju Road, Lagos, are familiar with victimisation, arbitrary hiring and sacking and 12-hour working days for meagre pay. Last year, former Governor Babatunde Fashola came to the rescue of a pregnant woman who was kicked in the stomach by her Chinese employer, leading to the loss of her pregnancy.

It becomes even more galling that it is foreign-owned firms, their proprietors and managers that are most notorious for the abuse of Nigerians on Nigerian soil and right under the noses of the government, its regulatory agencies and the people’s representatives at local, state and federal levels. According to the Nigeria Labour Congress, Nigerian workers are having a raw deal in the hands of Asian employers operating in Nigeria without check or censure. Cited most often as oppressive employers are Chinese, Lebanese, Indians and Syrian businessmen.

In a report it filed with the Ministry of Labour in 2014, the National Union of Civil Engineering, Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers, complained that Asian employers routinely locked in workers during production, thereby endangering their lives. These employers, the union alleged, victimised workers, prevented them from forming unions, while some even applied corporal punishment on their Nigerian staff. Worse; instead of permanent employment contracts, casual or part-time staff are the norm, a measure condemned by the International Labour Organisation.

It is common to find foreigners doing the most routine jobs in Asian-owned businesses in clear defiance of the expatriate quota regulation that restricts expatriates to specialised, highly skilled jobs that Nigerians are yet to master.

The problem lies squarely with the Nigerian government. Officials have failed to enforce laws and regulations and demonstrate a criminal lack of concern for Nigerian citizens. Having failed to respond promptly when La Casera, an Indian-owned drinks producer, shut down its Lagos factory after labour unions protested its alleged refusal to allow workers unionise under the National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees, officials of the Labour Ministry set the stage for the tragedy at Hongxing.

Corruption, indolence and lack of accountability have made life unbearable for Nigerians desperate for work in an environment where the jobless rate is 24.1 per cent. There is plenty of blame to go round. Labour ministry officials and successive ministers have failed to understand that their primary responsibility is to protect Nigerian workers and facilitate their welfare. Femi Falana, a lawyer, reminded us recently that under the Labour Act and the Factory Act, employers are required to ensure safety on their premises. The Factory Inspection Department fails to undertake regular inspection of factories to ensure compliance while the complaints of unions are ignored.

Corruption at the Nigeria Immigration Service allows these Asian carpetbaggers to get away with bringing in all manner of their nationals as “expatriates” thereby depriving Nigerians of jobs. We should not continue in this irresponsible behaviour. With populations of 1.4 billion and 1.25 billion respectively, China and India are perpetually looking for outlets for their oversized labour forces. It is the responsibility of Nigeria to protect its own economy and make job creation and job security the ultimate objectives of all its policies. The NLC has not done enough to protect factory workers.

Since corruption is the main driver of official indolence, President Muhammadu Buhari’s government should not relent in the war against graft. Corrupt ministry and Immigration officials condone the law-breaking and excesses of Asian employers. Police are also often too willing to provide muscle for them during conflicts with unions. The government should not be deceived by the false mantra of investment; when we get our fundamentals right through the rule of law, transparency and liberalisation, quality investors will come in droves.

Impunity must stop. The Amuwo Odofin deaths must provoke the Nigerian state to do the right thing. This case should be thoroughly investigated and offenders prosecuted. Lagos State legislators at the state and federal levels should fight for the right of citizens. They ought to have been leading the campaign to secure justice for the victims. They should wake up to their duty.