Former workers protest N2,000 terminal benefits

ALSCON

Former workers with UC RUSAL Aluminium Smelters Company of Nigeria, Ikpa Ibekwe, Ikot Abasi Local Government, Akwa Ibom State, have protested against the decision of the company to pay each of them N2,000 as terminal benefit.

The workers, who were employed on casual/contract basis and had each spent a minimum of six years in the company, accused RUSAL of sacking 470 indigenous workers with no terminal benefits.

The workers stormed the company on Tuesday carrying placards with inscriptions such as, ‘Our land, our ALSCON, we can’t stay at home while strangers are working,’ ‘RUSAL: No indigene, no Russian, no ALSCON,’ ‘No more land for farming in Ikpa Ibekwe clan,’ ‘We must work in ALSCON.’

A community leader, who is also one of the former workers, Mr. Jackson Ekpo, said the company was supposed to pay gratuities to the disengaged workers.

He added that instead, the company told the workers that paying gratuity was against international best practice as it had been advised by its lawyers not to do so.

Ekpo said, “RUSAL is supposed to pay gratuities to the sacked workers, but we are surprised that they did not. They said they had been advised by international lawyers that they didn’t have to pay gratuities to their workers as it is against international best practice.

“In sacking these workers, the company has breached the understanding it reached with the community, especially the MoU that was signed years back, which stipulated that 60 per cent workforce must come from the community.

“That is why both the community and the workers are protesting against the abnormal behaviour of the company.”

Chairman, Ikot Abasi Clan Youth Forum, Mr. Ezekiel Nathaniel, said although a large chunk of their land had been taken over by ALSCON, the community had not benefitted from it

He explained that because of oil activities in Ikot Abasi, and the chemicals discharged into the environment by ALSCON, members of the community could neither fish nor farm.

ALSCON branch Chairman of the Steel and Engineering Workers Union of Nigeria, Mr. Linus Usen, said that the union was not pleased with the company’s decision to downsize without paying workers terminal benefits.

However, a statement by RUSAL’s Director of Information, Ms. Tatyana Smirnova, on Wednesday, said despite measures by the company to sustain production, “coercive occupation of the production facilities and offices of the company by workers” has prevented work.

She said during talks with the “rebelling employees”, the company had repeatedly emphasised that in order to fulfil all its obligations, it was necessary to ensure stable conditions for the operations of the plant.

She said, “The management of ALSCON absolutely condemns the irresponsible and unlawful actions by this group of workers and emphasises that they are breaching the labour laws of Nigeria and the laws governing export-processing zones