NAN-H-24
Protest
Chinyere Bassey
Lagos, Dec. 8, 2017 (NAN) Food and beverage sector workers staged a peaceful protest on Friday, vowing not to accept anything lower than 16 per cent increase in their salaries from their employers.
The placard-carrying workers under the aegis of Food Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB) protested at various branches of their organisations in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the companies where the workers held the protests include Flour Mills in Apapa, Nigeria Breweries, Iganmu and 7UP Bottling Company at Ijora.
Some of the placards read: ”FOBTOB says no to industrial inequality. ”Management greed and exploitation shall be resisted and stop the proliferation of expatriate workers”.
The President of FOBTOB, Mr Quadri Olaleye, who spoke earlier to newsmen, said that members of the association had agreed not to accept 13 per cent increase proposed by the employers’ association.
Olaleye said that the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE), a body representing employers had delayed discussing the collective agreement on review of workers’ salaries and other benefits.
He said that both parties had met on five occasions without reaching any agreement on issues raised by the union.
“The collective agreement for review of salaries and other fringe benefits was due for negotiation and FOBTOB sent its proposal to AFBTE in July, 2017 to start negotiation.
“Negotiation did not commence till October, in spite of the fact that the agreement expired in August. When negotiation started our charter of demands was reduced to two from seven items,” he said.
The FOBTOB president decried the treatment meted out to members by various organisations, citing overtime and transport allowances which he said, were not extended to all senior staff.
“We as managers are being cheated, in spite of our inputs in the business to realise targets. Our members are victimised through restructuring or downsizing.’’
He urged employers to tackle the problem of employment of unqualified expatriates, noting that expatriates had flooded the industry and had taken over the jobs of Nigerians.
The union leader advised employers to work with the union as social partners, saying that he would fight for improved welfare for members.
The General-Secretary of FOBTOB, Mr Solomon Iji, who led the protest to various companies, said that about 1,500 workers had been laid off in the past one year in the guise of re-engineering the companies.
Iji reiterated that the union would ensure that workers’ salaries were reviewed and that the peaceful protest was to warn employers that the association would resist anti-labour policies.
Effort made by NAN correspondent to speak with the management of Flour Mills and 7UP proved abortive as their security personnel said that the spokespersons of the companies were not available. (NAN)
CHIN/ENN/SN
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Edited by Edwin Nwachukwu/Silas Nwoha