When Unionism Turned Sour
It was a sorry sight at the premises of a hair attachments and Weave-on industry, Linda Manufacturing Company Limited, located along Iju Road in Agege, Lagos State. There abound vandalised and completely destroyed properties at various areas of the company. This included machines in the factory, windows and doors to offices, laptop, desktop computers, office cabinets and various other items during a violent protest carried out by some workers purported to be members of the National Union of Footwear Rubber Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees (NUCFRLANMPE). For over three weeks, activities at the company have been halted due to the deeds of a set of distressed unionists who were discharged from the company.
Outside the premises of the company, a large number of workers were seen roaming the streets while another huge number of the factory workers were seen sitting indiscriminately at the roadsides. The reason for their being outside was not far-fetched- they were barred from entering the company’s premises by this set of persons, claiming to be unionists but sacked by the company. The furious workers responsible for the massive damage are said to have gone on rampage soon after the company terminated their appointments.
The Operations Manager, Mr. Monday Nnah, recalled that it all started with an illicit demonstration ignited by the branch Chairman of National Union of Footwear Rubber Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees (NUCFRLANMPE), Mr. Emmanuel Usangusung on January 25, 2016, who further led riotous workers into the company’s premises to destroy properties massively.
Nnah who alleged that this group of unionists had deliberately embarked hooliganism and disruption over the past weeks, noted, “We have documented and graphic evidences to show that the action of the worker was a sort of organised crime and a mission for vandalism and theft rather than the normal unionism. If you watch the video which was captured by the CCTV which they were not opportune to destroy, you would see some of them picking things from virtually all the drawers they destroyed and putting them into their pockets. Every valuable item and cash left in the drawer by the administrative staffs was stolen in the process while four international passports of one of the managers, his wife and two children (Koreans) were stolen”
Nnah revealed further that the eight workers affected by the termination exercise, were those spearheading radicalism while others who were ready to work peacefully in the company were barred from coming to work by these troubleshooters, adding that the company has in the process lost property worth more than N400, 000, 000 (four hundred million naira).
The Operations Manager who maintained that the workers were sacked due to their disrespect to the rules and regulations of the company, noted, “We had a meeting after the first disruption of production by Usangusung. The meeting ended very peacefully and we were to meet again a week after. But barely one hour after our meeting, Usangusung went back into the factory and spark off yet another protest.”
He said, “At this point we issued Usangusung along with his clique another query, having issued them one on January 25, 2016 to explain the reason why they switched off factory source of power and thereby obstruct production for the whole day. They bluntly told us that not even the Managing Director of the company could issue them query. They told us that they were answerable only to the National President of their Union. At this point, we had to do the needful as it was gradually shifting from the normal unionism to hooliganism. Hence, the termination of their services from the company.”
Consequently, the sacked workers on February 1, 2016, according to Nnah, grouped themselves into a gang along with other miscreants, came to the company, forced themselves in and chased all workers out of their duty posts including the administrative staff while they went on to destroy properties worth several hundreds of millions.
The company, Nnah said is worried over the sudden silence and nonchalant attitude shown by the National President, National Union of Footwear Rubber Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees (NUCFRLANMPE), Mr. Boniface Isiok, towards the bizarrely act perpetuated by his union members. He said further that when the problem started, the Union national president was invited to step in but that he has shown a nonchalant attitude since then. “It might interest you to know that this company actually gives Comrade Isiok the highest amount of checkups dues every month which amounts to over two million naira, so he should stop trivializing with issues that concern the staff of such a company. The crisis has been on for about three weeks and yet he has remained silent and rather, he keeps calling on every agency of government to picket the company”, Nnah noted.
The company maintained that one of reasons workers listed for the protest was ‘over target’, which was an issues agreed upon since January 2015, with signed document which the same Comrade Isiok was a party to, wondering, why they were now protesting over the issue more than a year after.
The operation manager who said the damage carried out by the workers was unimaginable, noted, “All the computers in the production offices were destroyed with their hard disks smashed, while laptops were stolen. Documents were ransacked and scattered all over the place while almost all the CCTV cameras in the company were completely damaged. Doors to offices were forcefully pulled down while some machines in the factory were damaged.”
When the National President, National Union of Footwear Rubber Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees (NUCFRLANMPE), Mr. Boniface Isiok was contacted, he affirmed that he was fully aware of the situation at Linda Manufacturing Company, noting that the workers were particularly agitating excessive target and so decided to down tolls. He said however that he had sent some of his men to intervene, and the issue was supposedly settled at a point only for the company's management to send termination letters through courier to a few of the workers they alleged spearheaded the protest. This action by the company, Isiok said sparked off another round of protest, which obviously led to the rampage.
Questioning the rationality behind such damage, the Logistics Manager, Mr. Nnamdi Okoro said, “After such level of vandalism and damage, do they have the intention to come back to work here and to work with what? The level of destruction by this group of aggrieved workers baffles everybody.” Okoro said, “Now that you have destroyed a factory with which you earn a living, where do you want to go back to and if you say you have another source of employment, what is the guarantee that you will not damage the place. What has the destruction got to do with what they are agitating for? This is not unionism.”
The Human Resources Manager, Mrs. Omolara Folajimi, bemoaned the fate of the vast number of staff employed by the company if it were shut down like Comrade Isiok has continued to threaten.
The company fears that if there is no quick intervention by various law enforcement agencies and other authorities concerned, most especially the Lagos State government, to rescue the ongoing state of affairs, there possibly will be ripple effects, which might affect not only the state economic growth but also the nation at large.