May 2001
Nigeria: Lock Out of Carnaud Metal Box Workers in Nigeria
Appeal for International Solidarity
The workers of CarnaudMetalBox (CMB) Nigeria are calling for international solidarity and support from trade unions and labour activists world-wide.
Since 30th April, 2001 and up to the present moment, the workers of CMB have been locked out by the management of the company for demanding for improved working conditions and the implementation of an agreement reached between the union and the management under the auspices of Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Labour, Employment and Productivity.
The premises of the company at Ogba Industrial Estate, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria, is being occupied by armed policemen and soldiers. Casual workers are being recruited by the company to take over the jobs of the locked-out staff.
CarnaudMetalBox is a multinational company with headquarters in Philadelphia, United States. But the company regional office which overseas its Nigerian business is located in Wantage, Britain.
The workers belong to Steel and Engineering Workers Union (SEWUN, Metal Sector) which is affiliated to Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Nigerian TUC.
THE GENESIS OF THE CRISIS
This current dispute started when the management of CarnaudMetalBox Nigeria breached the agreement between the management and the Steel and Engineering Workers Union (Metal Sector).
For sometime the working conditions in the company have become unbearable for the workers. There were several cases of victimisation and intimidation, and abuse of workers' rights. Consequently, the branch union wrote a series of letters to alert the management of these violations. But all efforts to ensure that the management address these issues were to no avail.
Therefore, on 30th March, 2001, the workers at a general meeting passed an eleven point resolution to the management. As a result, the management invited the branch union for a meeting on the eleven-point resolution but the meeting was deadlocked.
On the 9th April, 2001, SEWUN gave the management a seven (7) days ultimatum to implement the eleven (11) point resolution.
The seven (7) days ultimatum expired without any response from the management and the workers went on a work to rule (strike) on the 17th April, 2001. The management then invited the Federal Ministry of Labour, Employment and Productivity. A meeting was held for two days and on the 20th April, 2001 a communiqué of agreement was signed by the three parties.
Unfortunately, only one item out of the twelve (12) point communiqué of agreement was attended to by the management and even then it was implemented in a grossly inadequate and defective manner. Workers were still being intimidated with queries and suspension and forced to work extra hours.
MANAGEMENT'S CHEATING TACTICS
A new, higher minimum wage was introduced in Nigeria last year and it was implemented in the company. But rather than using the prevailing new minimum wage rate to calculate the annual salary increment this year as it used to be the practice for years, the management, surprisingly, used the old rate. This denied workers the gain of the new minimum wage making workers lose a lot of income.
The union rejected this and workers resolved to suspend weekend overtime work until the annual increment issue is properly addressed. Weekend overtime was boycotted between 28th-29th April, 2001 and when the company opened on 30th April, the management informed the branch union officers that they are being sacked for organising workers to boycott weekend overtime.
The workers then decided to hold a general meeting over this development. But as the meeting was going on, the factory was invaded by about eight (8) lorry load of armed military men, mobile policemen and regular police called in by the management and the defenceless and unarmed workers were forced out of the factory.
The secretary of the branch union was later arrested and detained for two days (30th April-1st May, 2001) by the police. The national secretariat of Steel and Engineering Workers Union of Nigeria, Metal Sector and Federal Ministry of Labour, Employment and Productivity who intervened again have been rebuffed by the CarnaudMetalBox Nigeria management.
COURT ACTION
At this stage, the union decided to resort to the court of law to seek justice. On 14th May, 2001, a court in Ikeja, Lagos, granted the union an interim injunction restraining CMB or their agents from "harassing or further harassing and intimidating or further intimidating or threatening to terminate or terminating the employment” of the workers.
Unfortunately, in spite of the court order served on the management, it has refused to allow the workers to go into the company premises to start work. The armed policemen and security staff have turned back workers who attempted to enter the factory even after the court injunction has been served on the management. The locked-out workers have been told to consider themselves as sacked.
OUR DEMANDS
We are appealing to workers, trade unions, human rights groups and socialists world-wide to put pressure on the management of CMB to end these acts of callousness and injustice. We call for your solidarity and support.
We demand:
- an end to the lock out by the management
- immediate withdrawal of military and policemen from the company premises.
- the management to obey the court order and stop acts of lawlessness.
- full implementation of the agreement reached by the three parties on 20th April, 2001.
- an end to all acts of victimisation of workers and union leaders in CMB.
- decent and humane working conditions for CMB workers.
Send letters of protests to:
(1) General Manager
CarnaudMetalBox Nigeria Plc,
3-7 Metal Box Road, Ogba Industrial Estate,
P.M.B. 21588, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria.
Fax: ++ 234 1 4923691, ++ 234 1 4923767
E-mail: cmb@cyberspace.net.ng
(2) Duncan Maclean,
Director, Africa Division,
CarnaudMetalBox Overseas Ltd
Downsview Road,
Wantage, Oxfordshire,
OX12 9BP, Britain.
Fax: ++ 44 (0) 1235 77 20 20
Phone: ++ 44 (0) 1235 77 29 29
Copies to dsm@beta.linkserve.com
Also to the following Nigerian newspapers and magazines:
The Comet: e-mail: mail@cometnews.com.ng
The Guardian: e-mail: letters@ngrguardiannews.com
Vanguard: e-mail: vanguard@linkserve.com.ng or vanguard@nova.net.ng
The Punch: e-mail: dailypunch@the-punch.com
MOHAMMED AKABSON (Union Branch Chairman)
GODWIN ORHEWERE (Union Branch Secretary)
Nigeria:
Appeal
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