Lt-Gen. Danjuma
In what can be clearly described as a throwing the goose that laid the golden egg, the family of former Nigeria Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, (rtd), has “refused” to pay its workers at GALBA Nigeria Limited to 48 months.
This is even as the Taraba State-born former Nigeria’s Minister of Defence paid $ 1.2billion for a palatial London hotel.
Bloomberg Billionaires Index reported that the 14-room 300-year-old Kings Arms Hotel cost 250 pounds per night. The 80-year-old former army officer bought the property two years ago.
However, as the Danjuma family flow in wealth and plenty, its workers at GALBA, an oil servicing firm located at Plot 311, Trans Amadi Industrial Layout, Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, are living in penury. The workers are members of the Automobile Boatyards Transport Equipment and Allied (AUTOBATE) Senior Staff Association labour union.
Apex News gathered that the workers have not been sacked or the firm shut down leaving the employers confused. Links at AUTOBATE noted that the situation began in 2013, when it was noticed that workers’ check-off dues remittances already deducted were not paid to the union.
However, in many rebuttals in paid advertorials and sponsored news stories, the Company Secretary, Dauda Danjuma, explained that non-payment of salaries from September 2015 was because the firm could not meet its projected profit margin for the 2016/2017 fiscal year.
Comrade Sola Olorunfemi, General Secretary, Automobile, Boatyards, Transport Equipment, Allied Senior Staff Association (AUTOBATE)
Paradoxically, in one of the advertorials, it eulogises and launders the image of General T.Y. Danjuma where the Director mentioned the retired General cares about the welfare of his workers and their families and he doesn’t want the firm to be shut down for that.
However, AUTOBATE noted that it was clearly an attempt by Dauda and GALBA management to misinform the larger populace but it was gathered that the same firm verbally told workers whom have spent above 25 years of service to “go and rest” without any terminal benefits or gratuities.
Although, there were several attempts by the AUTOBATE Senior Staff Association to engage the management to pay the workers’ salaries with arrears even with mediatory intervention of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC). These all proved futile.
In particular May 21, 2017 following a congressional resolution reached at the firm premises by the workers, the union met with the Head of Human Resources of GALBA Nigeria Limited, Mr Mike Appier but didn’t show any serious commitment towards paying the backlogs of workers’ salaries and benefits at the end of the meeting that had representatives of TUC in attendance.
On May 23, 2017, the workers led by the General Secretary of AUTOBATE Senior Staff Association, Comrade Sola Olorunfemi, initiated a two week protest and picketed the company. Unfortunately, instead of addressing the legitimate concerns of the workers, the management rather decided to mount pressure on companies sharing the same premises to break the picket line.
However, one of the rent companies, SGS got injunction from the court against the picketing on the Monday of the third week of picketing. And that was after a failed attempt by the same SGS to compromise the leadership of TUC and the AUTOBATE union so as to break the picketing line.
Following the lack of commitment to comply with the payment of workers’ salaries with arrears and with the reactions of the Management to the industrial actions taken by the workers, the AUTOBATE Senior Staff Association applied for a Trade Dispute against GALBA Nigeria Limited in 2017.
In the course of this anomaly and attacks on workers by the company and its Management over 11 workers had died and that include the AUTOBATE Branch Secretary, Comrade Debora Ikiri. Bulk of these deaths were caused by deteriorating health conditions with no fund to get appropriate medical attention, as the deceased were owned salaries ranging from 18 months to 40 months before their death.
That implies their death could have been avoided if the General T.Y. Danjuma and co actually cares as their their adverts portrayed, rather the company and its Management put profit above the interest and lives of the workers.
Similarly, to the May 2017 actions, the workers led by the AUTOBATE Senior Staff Association Organising Secretary, Lai Brown, on the 2018 May Day had a rally to press home demands for the payment of 30 months salaries. Also, at that 2018 May Day events, the TUC Rivers State Chairperson communicated the demands of the GALBA workers to the Governor of Rivers State. Earlier the AUTOBATE GALBA Branch had written a protest letter to the Rivers State House of Assembly to address the poor working conditions of workers.
Those efforts didn’t yield the expected results neither did the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment take swift action on the Trade Dispute filed against the GALBA Nigeria Limited since 2017.
Also, the GALBA Management had been very aggressive dismissing negotiation called to discuss the manner of paying the outstanding monies and check-off dues to the union. From the approach of the Management, it is clear that even during crisis, the Management still want to cash out hugely at the detriment of the workers.
AUTOBATE stressed that from all indications, the Management plans to declare liquidation and sell off the company without payment to the poor workers.
The workers are owned months of salaries, gratuities and other remunerations running into N350million.
In the light of those, AUTOBATE Senior Staff Association has dragged GALBA Nigeria Limited to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) and is determined to stand with the workers until justice is achieved and urged the labour and the media to lend their support.
