Posted by From Alifa Daniel, Abuja on
A crisis resolution meeting may hold today in Abuja between Federal Government officials and workers' representatives, over the recent contentious sack of 1,500 employees of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL).
A crisis resolution meeting may hold today in Abuja between Federal Government officials and workers' representatives, over the recent contentious sack of 1,500 employees of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL).
While ASCL's management outfit - ISPAT of India explained that the lay-off were aimed at weeding out unproductive workers from the Steel firm, the Iron and Steel Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ISSAN) complained of non-adherence to due process in the retrenchment exercise.
Today's meeting was at the behest of ISSAN, after a petition to labour and productivity, and power and steel ministers.
"We have protested officially to the ministers and have been invited for a meeting on Thursday (today) in Abuja," Didi Adodo, ISSAN's general secretary said.
An ISPAT's official, who spoke on condition of anonymity said on phone from Ajaokuta on Tuesday that those sent packing where those who had attained the mandatory retirement age of government workers. "They are within the age of 57 and 58 and were no longer productive." Efforts to reach the Minister of Power and Steel, Senator Liyel Imoke, was unfruitful as he was said to be outside the country. Other senior directors declined to comment. But a inside source said that the lay-offs were not unexpected.
"We knew it was going to come, we just did not know the exact timing," a senior official of the ministry said yesterday evening.
The senior management staff from Ajaokuta however insisted that the workers that were sent packing had been paid-off by the Federal Government, adding that those laid-off were in the administration department.
"They were in the Administration, Purchasing, Finance and other non-production sectors," the management staff said.
However, Adodo said it was not exactly true that the laid-off staff had been paid off. "It is not true. I am sure that as I am speaking to you that nobody has been paid at all."
"The ministry and the management did not follow due process at all. The union was not officially informed before this action was carried out. Calling us for a meeting is like putting the cart before the horse. They should have first consulted us before the people were sent packing.
That is not the ideal thing. We should have discussed it first, that is the law. But now, they are inviting us for a meeting after sacking the people. This is not fair at all," he said.