The Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Rights (CDWR) has called for full investigations into the alleged anti-workers’ policy of the management of Linda Manufacturing Company and Sophia company over the death of its staff, late Atukpo Wisdom who died on September 24, 2014 while on duty
CDWR Publicity Secretary, Comrade Chinedu Bosah while demanding for an immediate compensation to be paid to the family of late Wisdom told newsmen in Lagos that the time has come for the Ministry of Labour and Productivity to be more assertive to put an end to the inhuman workplace policies of employers of labour in the country
He said: “We demands the setting up of an independent and democratic panel of enquiry made up of trade union representatives, elected representative of workers, officials of the Ministry of labour and other relevant regulatory agencies.
“The panel’s duty should be to investigate and determine the culpability of the management officials of Linda Company in the death of late Wisdom and the recommendation of anyone found culpable for criminal prosecution.”
According to Bosah, workers of Linda Company have heroically demanded from the Ministry of labour and Productivity to be transparent in opening up by exposing the anti-worker’s policies of not only Linda Manufacturing Company and Sophia Company, but other companies in the country
“One of the policies, according to the workers that embarked on strike after the death of late Wisdom is, the absence of adequate medical care when workers are sick and most terrifying is the policy of ’27 Points’ that forces workers to remain at work at all cost.”
“The ‘27 Points’ policy of the company is a brutal slave era policy implemented by the management that attaches 3 points to workers who fail to be at work even when they have genuine reason(s) not to be at work and 9 points for being suspended for one day, which sometimes are because workers are unable to meet specified targets for the day or for any other flimsy excuses. Hence, these points keep piling up and when it gets to 27 Points, the worker is automatically sacked,” he stated.
While demanding for the outright cancellation of this ‘27 Points’ policy, Bosah added: “Workers’ pursuit to avoid getting to ‘27 Points’ and because management is not willing to give permission to workers to seek medical care as well as absence of well-equipped hospital for workers led to the death of late Mr. Wisdom”
Source : Independent