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GOVERNOR James Ibori of Delta State says there is no cause for alarm over the disengagement, last week, of over 1,000 staff by the Delta Steel Company (DSC), Ovwian-Aladja in Delta State, now owned by the Global Steel Holdings Limited (GSHL), an Indian company as between 5,000 and 6,000 Nigerians would be employed in the company which is working on the expansion of the production plants in a couple of years.
WARRI - GOVERNOR James Ibori of Delta State says there is no cause for alarm over the disengagement, last week, of over 1,000 staff by the Delta Steel Company (DSC), Ovwian-Aladja in Delta State, now owned by the Global Steel Holdings Limited (GSHL), an Indian company as between 5,000 and 6,000 Nigerians would be employed in the company which is working on the expansion of the production plants in a couple of years.
Managing Director/Chief Executive of DSC, Mr. L.K. Fehtal also allayed fears that the Indians had come to colonize the place, saying that the expatriate quota was not more than 24 per cent and that the company would give jobs to more Nigerians which was not the case before the intervention of GSHL.
Both the governor and the DSC boss spoke at Owwian-Aladja when Chief Ibori paid a familiarization visit to the place.
The governor who expressed satisfaction with the technical capacity of the new owners and the positive turn-around in the affairs of the company said he demanded the reasons for the cutback in staff strength of the company when his attention was drawn to the matter and that he was satisfied with the reasons given for the action.
His words: 'It was just brought to my attention as I was here that there has been some cut-backs in the staff strength. Well, it is quite unfortunate, but I do know that the programme of the company is to build on the production and the expansion of the plant which will generate more employment. It is just one of the painful decisions they have to take now. The cut-down in the staff is to be trim enough to be able to hit the break-even point. I am sure they will observe all labour laws accompanying the decision and also all accompanying regulations.
'My interest is in the number of employment that will be generated as a result of the operations coming back to life. I am satisfied. In a couple of years time, 5,000 to 6,000 persons will be employed here," he asserted.
Fehtal who conducted the governor round the production plants said the target of the DSC was to achieve a productivity level that would make the country stop importing steel in the next five years, adding that more jobs would be available to Nigerians when the expansion was completed.
Vanguard gathered that some people were threatening a showdown with the company over the dismissal of workers but the General Manager, Communications and Development, Mr. Aloysius Lobo in a statement made available to Vanguard stated that the Ministry of Power and Steel was duly informed of the disengagement of the affected staff as per the agreement with the government.
He said that the company merely reduced its staff strength to 'a viable economic size for better productivity and commercial operations."
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has advised all those planning to foment trouble to steer clear of the company as the restructuring and disengagement was approved.