Labour Union Pickets Construction Company Over Anti-union Practices

The National Union of Civil Engineering Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW) on Wednesday picketed Winchino Engineering (WE) Nigeria Limited over alleged anti-union practices, poor wages, inadequate workplace safety measures and failure to provide formal conditions of service for its workers.

The union, led by its national president, Comrade Stephen Okoro, accused the construction company of denying Nigerian workers the right to organise, victimising employees seeking union representation and failing to provide adequate healthcare and safety equipment at construction sites.

The union said the action was aimed at compelling the company to recognise workers’ rights, negotiate a collective bargaining agreement and improve their welfare and working conditions.

Addressing workers during the picketing, Okoro said the union had repeatedly written to the company and visited its premises to seek dialogue, but alleged that management had ignored its correspondence and resisted efforts to organise workers.

He also alleged that the company had, on some occasions, used mobile police personnel to drive union representatives away from its premises.

According to him, the union had exhausted several attempts to resolve the dispute through engagement before resorting to picketing.

Okoro expressed concern over what he described as inadequate occupational safety measures at the company’s construction sites, alleging that workers operated without essential protective equipment, including safety boots, helmets and hand gloves.

He also said that the company lacked a registered clinic where workers could receive emergency medical attention, raising concerns about the circumstances surrounding the deaths of two workers allegedly associated with its operations.

The union president said the absence of a formal condition of service could complicate efforts to establish employers’ responsibilities and secure compensation for workers or their families in cases of workplace fatalities.

He called on the company to establish clear employment terms that would define the rights and responsibilities of both workers and management, including provisions for remuneration, safety and compensation.

The dispute centres on workers’ freedom of association, which the union said was protected by Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution and Section 12 of the Trade Unions Act, 2005, as amended.

The union maintained that workers in the construction industry should be allowed to join an appropriate trade union without intimidation or victimisation.

It also accused Winchino Engineering of paying what it described as slave wages and failing to improve employees’ working conditions despite securing major construction contracts.

The union demanded an end to the alleged anti-worker practices, the unionisation of employees and the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement to establish decent wages and working conditions.

He said, “We have written a series of letters. We have visited this company severally, time without number. They ignored our letters. Sometimes they will chase us out with mobile police and the rest, intimidating Nigerian labour workers.”

“Nigerian workers are not your slaves. These anti-worker and anti-union practices are unacceptable to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the National Union of Civil Engineering Construction Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW).

The union’s demands included, “An end to slave labour in Winchino Engineering Nigeria Limited, unionisation of workers employed by the company and decent pay and decent working conditions for the staff Through collective bargaining agreement,” the union said.

Okoro warned that the picketing would continue if the company failed to engage the union and address its demands, adding that the labour movement would not accept what it considered the exploitation of Nigerian construction workers.

He said the union was prepared to sustain the industrial action until the dispute was resolved.

Attempts to obtain a response from Winchino Engineering’s management were unsuccessful as company representatives at the scene declined to comment.