I feel like crying anytime I think about this.If I may ask what is so special about these white men.Nearly 80% of the company owned by white men in Nigeria are enslaving their workers.How can a company be paying their worker N7000 naira a month with HARD labour.That money is nothing to write home about compare to the work they do and the risk involved.I don’t want to mention companies cos I have about six on my list.I don’t blame them much but for the selfish Nigerian who present workers to them as casual staffs thereby taking the larger part of the money.
I have a guy in my area,he’s a younger brother to my friend.He studied industrial chemistry,he came to Lagos for his six months IT.He was in Lagos for a month and half without any placement b4 he decided to work as a casual in a chemical company around Ikeja.He resumes by 7:30 am and closes around 5p.m.At times he runs night duty.After a month and half his appearance changed infact you can hardly recognice him physically but if he talks you will know hes still the one.
He latter fell sick, I mean seriously sick.
We later realize that where he works hes exposed to chemical which he inhale on daily basis.
Nairalanders,this guy nealy died it only took the mercy of God.
Imagine a company own by foreigner,the funniest thing is that they don’t allow thing like this in their country.Their are some indegineous companies that are worse than this.What are the Nigerian labour congress doing, to me they are there SLEEPING busy doing nothing for the workers.
The condition of service in some companies is totally out of it.This are the critical area the NLC should look into.
………………can this country be better than this………………
But we all know the problems of this country and we have millions of people that can analyse the problem of this nation from A to Z.So many proposals have been submitted.
WHATS HAPPENING IN THIS COUNTRY…………….

I think the question should be post back to you, Mr. Poster, what are you doing about it? you are here for us to discuss about it, great, but what will that achieve? if you are so sure of your claim, why not send a letter to the govt, and let them have a look at it, and i am sure if it is a dangerous environment to work, they will do something about it, and if they wont, we can raise it to the world body.
However, you need to do something first, but you coming in here with 6 on your list and yet you refuse to mention any, my guy, it doesnt show patriotism on your own part as well, to fix the problem, they need to be exposed, we dont need to know the person you know there, but it is important to know what company is involved in such, and it might turn out to be that the agency is what is paying them peanut out of bucket they are getting paid.

As far as Health and Safety at work is concerned Nigeria no get laws {or if they do they exist on paper only} So any foreign company can come here and do as they like. Working conditions like that will never be tolerated in a developed country.

@poster

Name the companies a@#$#$#@!!

I don’t want to mention companies because I have about six on my list

why dont you want to mention the companies??

What is the minimum wage in lagos anyway, the companies might just get away with it

Since your guy runs night duty, he can record the appalling conditions at these factories then post it to media houses, labour unions, CNN, friends of the Earth etc (health and safety lapses, chemical waste and crude working conditions)

@poster
i feel you man,and its a real shame,if you go through the travel section and some threads on here however you will realise thatnigerianofficials have abdicated their duties in pursuit of contracts and stealing,the minister and other officials in charge of workers welfare includin the nigerian labour congress have been politicised and have lost their edge ever since the exit of oshiomole,even nupeng,pengassan e.t.c who fought bravely during the abiola 93 struggle,

rather than just lamenting about it tho,i think you and the guy you r on about and other staffs can actually do something about it,theres strenght in numbers and im sure other workers in these factories feel the same way you do,draw up a list of grievances and present it to the union,if they r not doing anything about it,sacrifice some time and mobilise people to actually confront the foreigners,involve the press,ait e.t.c
trust me lamenting on nairaland wouldnt do much,you dont expect me in uk to fight for you or people in the united states europe china e.t.c you all have to take your destiny in your hands and say enough is enough the reason why its not tolerated is because in these other countries their workers take a stance unlike we nigerians, thats why wole soyinka called us "natural shock absorbers"

Infact, if they wants to be anonymous, they could secretly record the condition of the place and how they work and what they do, and i cld help them post it online and send a copy to even CNN and CBC.
They cld eventually be able to sue those companies.

mr poster,the ball is in your court you guys have to make the first move

the nigerian labor congress should be broken up, it's just too big of a union to make an impact. machinists should look after machinists, textile works should look after the interests of textile workers etc. why don't you list the name of the company or get your story to a media house. you are only encouraging them if you don't expose their inhumane practices.

I am not sure if this poster is serious at all, seems like he is enjoying the slavery situation that his friends is working in, else, he wld have expose the companies and by now, we would have had stuff done.

I wouldn't call it slavery. maybe exploitation.

Nigerian leaders WILLINGLY sold companies to white-owned companies. But this issue, is not about race but we all know that every corporations/companies/businesses are all about making excessive profit at all cost. Even at the expense of workers. Expecially when it comes to workers who live in a society where rules and regulations don't exist or rather, can be changed through bribery.

I should also state that I notice that Nigerians would rather work for white-owned companies than Nigerian owned companies. I remember, a family friend who got hired to work for Eleganza said he wouldn't work there because Eleganza's money came from "demon-possesed pot."

Such rubbish!!!

roflmao!!!

OBVIOUS:

I wouldn't call it slavery. maybe exploitation.

Nigerian leaders WILLINGLY sold companies to white-owned companies. But this issue, is not about race but we all know that every corporations/companies/businesses are all about making excessive profit at all cost. Even at the expense of workers. Expecially when it comes to workers who live in a society where rules and regulations don't exist or rather, can be changed through bribery.

Inasmuch as i agree with you, however, on this issue, the guy stated on his post that, the company has hired agency that runs the affairs of their human power resources, so we need to shift most of the blame to those people, cos for all you know, they cld be paying the agency good morning and they turn around to keep all profit and pay the workers next to nothing, cos we have govt that is disfunctional.

OBVIOUS:

I should also state that I notice that Nigerians would rather work for white-owned companies than Nigerian owned companies. I remember, a family friend who got hired to work for Eleganza said he wouldn't work there because Eleganza's money came from "demon-possesed pot."

Such rubbish!!!

Well, Nigerians always thinking that everything made out of Nigeria is better than made in Nigeria, make something in oshodi and post made in USA and see how you will sell, even if na pure water.
and Nigerians wanting to work for foreign coys, i dont blame them, cos they sure of getting paid at the end of the month, no matter how small.

OBVIOUS:

I should also state that I notice that Nigerians would rather work for white-owned companies than Nigerian owned companies. I remember, a family friend who got hired to work for Eleganza said he wouldn't work there because Eleganza's money came from "demon-possesed pot."

Such rubbish!!!

any nigerian that deides to work for a foreign company instead of an indegenous one is exercising his/her right,does that justify the treatment of modern day enslavement?or in your own wods "exploitation"?
do the foreign companies treat their foreign workers like that?so whats the correlation between treating workers unfairly,without the basic livng welfare e.t.c merely being "exploited"instead of enslavery, or nigerians selling off companies to foreigners?? theres absolutely no connection or justification pls!!

Well, Nigerians always thinking that everything made out of Nigeria is better than made in Nigeria, make something in oshodi and post made in USA and see how you will sell, even if na pure water.
and Nigerians wanting to work for foreign coys, i don't blame them, because they sure of getting paid at the end of the month, no matter how small.

I think thats the stereotype that Nigerians have about Nigerian owned companies, which is bad. Businessmen/companies like Eleganza and those in the ranks PAY THIER EMPLOYEES and they PAY THEM WELL.!!!

I don't want to mention anymore specific Nigerian owned companies but there are some they do thier due dilengence and not only pay salaries but reward hard work.

@fhemmmy
It wont be easy to sneak in a camera into a working place like dat.
If you are caught thats the end of your stay in such companies.
If youre in Lagos you will know some of those companies.

lucabrasi:

any nigerian that deides to work for a foreign company instead of an indegenous one is exercising his/her right,does that justify the treatment of modern day enslavement?or in your own wods "exploitation"?
do the foreign companies treat their foreign workers like that?so whats the correlation between treating workers unfairly,without the basic livng welfare e.t.c merely being "exploited"instead of enslavery, or nigerians selling off companies to foreigners?? theres absolutely no connection or justification please!!

If a Nigerian deciedes to work for a foreign owned company in his own land, then that Nigerian should tolerate what he/she gets at work.  Many educated Nigerians who leave thier country to work in a foreign lands also face such difficulties (e.g. working long hours, being paid minimum wage, or doing extremely uncomfortable work) Its what comes with the territory if you make such decision.  

do the foreign companies treat their foreign workers like that?

Of course foreign companies can't treat foreign workers like that because that foreign worker can always go back to thier country of origin/leave the job. (I mean, An educated American citizen in Nigeria, can deciede to leave Nigeria, come back to America to work and get peace of mind and probably more money) I mean foreign workers have a choice, Nigerian workers don't. So for a Nigerian worker that decides to work for a foreign company must either be smart and use his/her connections wisely or should stop working for that company.

OBVIOUS:

If a Nigerian deciedes to work for a foreign owned company in his own land, then that Nigerian should tolerate what he/she gets at work. Many educated Nigerians who leave their country to work in a foreign lands also face such difficulties (e.g. working long hours, being paid minimum wage, or doing extremely uncomfortable work) Its what comes with the territory if you make such decision.
[/QUOTE]

right on!!

[quote author=OBVIOUS link=topic=184012.msg2973095#msg2973095 date=1224598736]
Of course foreign companies can't treat foreign workers like that because that foreign worker can always go back to their country of origin/leave the job. (I mean, An educated American citizen in Nigeria, can deciede to leave Nigeria, come back to America to work and get peace of mind and probably more money) I mean foreign workers have a choice, Nigerian workers don't. So for a Nigerian worker that decides to work for a foreign company must either be smart and use his/her connections wisely or should stop working for that company.

right on!!!

lwise:

@fhemmmy
It wont be easy to sneak in a camera into a working place like that.
If you are caught thats the end of your stay in such companies.
If youre in Lagos you will know some of those companies.

In Nigeria, there are ways to do almost anything, so trust me, i am sure it can be done, or at least name the companies, i dont reside in Lagos.

OBVIOUS:

If a Nigerian deciedes to work for a foreign owned company in his own land, then that Nigerian should tolerate what he/she gets at work. Many educated Nigerians who leave their country to work in a foreign lands also face such difficulties (e.g. working long hours, being paid minimum wage, or doing extremely uncomfortable work) Its what comes with the territory if you make such decision.

.

im sorry but i totally and utterly dissagree with your whole comment,nigerians working abroad if they are being objective can say in all hoesty that they get treated way much fairly, did u read about the nigerian woman working in the registry who refused to join a gay couple together because it was against her religion?and she wasnt sacked
once you are a permanent employee of any company here in the uk,you have automatic acess t some basics like holidays,sick pay 2 breaks one paid and one unpaid,if you are an ethnic minority its against the law for anybody even the owner of the company to acially abuse or treat u diffrent or he/she ll pay a hefty compensation,if you r disabled or hurt at work you get paid compensation,thats just a bit of the rights every single legitimate worker in the uk irrespective of your religion,race,location enjoy, an educated nigerian has a choice in the hours he/she works,and the amount of pay he/she works for,
an average nigerian,who is desperate for a job,in a lawless country with zero welfare policy and endemic corruption has absolutely no choice,you either take any work at any pay in any ondition or the alternative is being sacked and starve, no unemployment benefit,no housing allowance,no tax credit for you and the children,no diability allowance please dont even compare

OBVIOUS:

.

Of course foreign companies can't treat foreign workers like that because that foreign worker can always go back to their country of origin/leave the job. (I mean, An educated American citizen in Nigeria, can deciede to leave Nigeria, come back to America to work and get peace of mind and probably more money) I mean foreign workers have a choice, Nigerian workers don't. So for a Nigerian worker that decides to work for a foreign company must either be smart and use his/her connections wisely or should stop working for that company.

so in that scenario of choice which we presumably both agree with,is that enough justification for any company to maltreat the staffs?what about the average nigerian who has no connections, is it justifiable to treat them like cap?
the american companies /staffs get treated fairly because the average american dont allow them to get way with it,if nothing we see the michael moore docu dramas taking it upon himself to go to some campanies and highlight several ills,same as others who do so, if nigerians both home and away still think the way people are treated in these factories is perfectly okay,then im really sorry

You have defiinately missed the point of my posting.