Emma Amaize
19 September, 2011, Sweetcrude, WARRI- ABOUT 16 Indian workers of the troubled Delta Steel Company, DSC, Delta State, Monday, embarked on hunger strike to protest the refusal of the management to pay them off.
It was gathered that some of the affected foreign workers were lying on the bare floor of the administrative complex of the company, while some sat down in absolute dejection.
They all resigned their employment with the company, two to three months ago, and asked for their benefits to enable them leave return to their country because of the obvious dwindled fortune of DSC.
But to their chagrin, the management has not shown any sign of paying them. Last week, about 10 of them were said to be sleeping in the foyer, as they had no home to stay, having resigned from the company.
On Monday morning, they were a pitiable sight as 15 of them took over the administrative floor with some Nigerian workers fearing that they could die if urgent help did not come from the management.
A staff of the company who spoke said, “It is not a hidden information that the Indian workers are on a hunger strike, they pasted something on the notice board, saying that since they resigned between two and three months ago and demanded for their final pay off, the company had not deemed it fit to pay them”.
“They wrote that they initially started with a 12-hour hunger strike, but the management did not budge and so, they were embarking on a 24-hour strike from Monday”, he added.
As at 11.00 am, the management has not addressed the protesting Indian workers and there was no hope in sight.
“The management has pretended that they are not aware of their hunger strike because it is having a financial challenge and obviously, there is no money to pay. So, they are behaving as if they are not aware because the regular workers served them a notice of strike, last week, over the delay in the payment of their August salary and it will be suicidal if they decide to settle one and leave the other.”
Acting Group Public Affairs Manager, Mr. Kes Agbosa promised to investigate and get back to Vanguard on the actual development when contacted for comments.
