Pioneer Industrial Company, Chinese Contractor Dupe Workers
As a result of weak labor laws enforcement by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security in the Government of Sierra Leone, a gas producing entity situated at National, Cline Town in Freetown known as Pioneer Industrial Company has connived with a Chinese Contractor to misuse and sack over thirty laborers who have served the company for the past four years without end of service benefit.
The Pioneer Industrial Company has its branch at 5 Mile in the Western Rural District where they are currently constructing structures with the helpless laborers to start manufacturing zinc.
The company hired the said Chinese contractor, Mr. Jung who employed the victimized workers for the past four years on casual basis without National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT) subscription, no protective gears to perform gaseous works, no medical allowance to treat any worker that fall sick as he promised during the recruitment process.
After working on casual basis for years, the poor laborers requested the management of the company to permanent them so that they might realize a better salary scale but any time they confronted the rogue Chinese contractor with such plan, he did not only sacked them unlawfully without benefit but he also boasted that nothing would come out of it because the Government of Sierra Leone is in his pocket.
What is painful according to the hopeless workers is that, information have leaked that, the Chinese contractor, Mr. Jung has returned to China clandestinely without fulfilling agreement with the employees.
When contacted the Managing Director of the Pioneers Industrial Company about the disappearance of his Chinese contractor, he responded that, Mr. Jung has travelled to China on two weeks visit but the disappointed workers are worried that, Mr. Jung would not come back again to Sierra Leone.
The Managing Director further told laborers who blamed the labor ministry for not put in place strong laws that would have guided them from falling prey into the hands of wicked foreign employers that the company would only accommodate five among thirty staff.
According to workers, the MD had earlier assured to pay their benefits before the departure of the Chinese contractor but surprisingly, he gave only five hundred thousand Leones (Le 500,000) to be shared among thirty workers as their benefit.
The disgruntled workers said they developed confidence to work with Pioneer Company at the initial stage because; it is a big company that has all what it takes to pay salaries and honor their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The disadvantaged workers are therefore calling on the intervention of Government to look into activities of the company to save poor Sierra Leoneans in search of job opportunity and concluded with tears running their eyes that, the foreign contractor and the company have flout the country’s labor laws and succeeded to dupe Sierra Leonean citizens.
By Abdulai Mento Kamara
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