We treat Nigerian, Chinese workers equally ─ Steel firm

Early last week,i brough a report about a worker who died in a Chinese stell firm here in Lagos.Here is a follow up on the issue as reported by Punch.

The Chinese firm accused of maltreating Nigerians, Hongxing Steel Company Limited, has said it does not operate a slave camp for its workers in Lagos State.

The Managing Director of the company, Andy Lu, who visited thePUNCH Place at Magboro, Ogun State, on Sunday in company with some top management employees of the company, said Hongxing operated a socially-responsible

policy for its members of staff.

PUNCH Metro had reported that workers in the company were dying and sustaining permanent disabilities due to the absence of safety standards.

Emeka Umoh was scalded to death after liquefied iron spilled on his body in September, while another worker, Adebayo Ajiboye, was squeezed to death by a compressor sometime in February.

Some of the workers, who spoke with our correspondent on hospital beds after sustaining serious injuries in the firm, lamented that they were not offered letters of appointment and were always paid meager wages.

The firm, however, said though it was still improving on its safety standards, it was not to blame for some of the industrial accidents.

A senior admin officer of the company, Segun Bello, said Emeka’s death could have been prevented if the victim had abided by the company’s regulations.

He said, “We are a manufacturing company and we know that occasionally, hazards do happen. We do try to put in place safety measures, but unfortunately, some accidents still happen due to human errors.

“The deaths are unfortunate, but they were avoidable. For instance Emeka’s death was preventable because he was not supposed to be at that place at that time, according to the company’s regulation.

“Emeka was there at that time and the fire balls, which were being carried in two buckets, was supposed to be emptied when it gets to a pole. Ordinarily, not one person stays there. But unfortunately, he was there and alone, and that was how he died.

“Our work environment is such that Nigerians and Chinese work side by side. As we have Nigerian factory workers, so also we have Chinese factory workers, vice versa administrative staff. So, Nigerians are not pushed to the dirty jobs. In fact, the ratio of Chinese workers to Nigerian workers is 10 to 90.”

Another member of the delegation, who did not want to be identified, said some of the workers always lobbied to do overtime, and the company obliged them.

He said the official working hours was eight to 10 hours, adding that the factory opens on Mondays and closes Fridays.

“The truth is that we have been working for just two weeks in a month due to low demands in the steel industry.

“But you will still see workers who will plead that they want to work outside the official hours, which they call overtime. Sometimes, the management, out of its magnanimity, allows them to carry on.

“Some of them go as far as wanting to work on Saturdays and Sundays, because the company always doubled the pay for weekend jobs. So, there is no rule that says once you come in, you will be locked in. And we are the most competitive in the steel industry. We pay our factory workers between N75,000 and N120,000 per month.”

Lu, who assumed leadership of the company in April, 2014, told PUNCH Metro that since he became the MD, he had ordered that the workers stopped using words like, “master”, which he considered subservient.

Lu said the company always punished workers who were involved in scuffles, be they Nigerians or Chinese.

He said, “The impression that the company is a slave camp is wrong. We operate a humane and a socially-responsible policy. It is difficult to differentiate a Chinese worker from a Nigerian worker.

“We do things together ─ we play football matches, tug of war and go for social relaxation together. The only thing that is not the same is our meal, because we have different food. We don’t discriminate against any Nigerian.

“Since I assumed office, we have ordered compulsory use of helmets and other safety gadgets, and we have reminders of safety at all times. But some workers get used to the work and fail to use the gadgets. When we see this, we always punished them by removing from their pay.”

He said aside taking up the medical bills of staff members who sustained injuries while working, the company always compensated families of victims who died in active duty.

Another senior official of the company, who did not identify himself, said the company had both casual workers and full staff members.

He added that before a person could become a full staff member, he would be made to go through a training period, during which he would also be paid.

He said the company was making a lot of sacrifices for its staff in order to make them feel loved.

“The MD even had to pay a bank about N6m to put an ATM in front of the factory so that workers can have easy access to cash.

“Later, he started giving them free bread and milk without discrimination. When they have personal problems, the company assists them with funds and when they have special celebrations, we give them presents on behalf of the company. Tell me, how many organisations do these?”