The Managing Director of
Yongxing Steel Company, Benin, Edo Edo State, Mr, Frank Wang, has urged local and foreign investors to exercise patient with Nigerian economy,
stressing that though there are challenges, they are bound to be rewarded for their investments at the end of the day.
He stated that the firm’s waste to wealth programme has created over 700 direct employment as well as over 10,000 indirect jobs, while ensuring a cleaner environment
Mr Wang, Represented by the company’s spokesman, Mr, Ben Den, made this assertion at
a stakeholders interactive session in Benin at the weekend.
According to him, “As many of you that are aware, the basic raw materials for our production come from things which are otherwise problem in the environment.
“We empower people to gather these waste materials that litter the whole environment, we pay for them, we use technology to recycle them and produce some of the best steel products that are used in the construction industry.
“That way, we are not only creating employment, we are cleaning the environment, and we are contributing immensely to the construction sector which is very vital to a growing economy like Nigeria.”
“We have created over 700 direct employment as well as 10,000 indirect jobs.
“I want to use this opportunity to encourage other foreign investors not to run away from Nigeria. There is no economy that does not have difficulties. Our duty is to support the nation in her efforts to surmount those difficulties.
“Those of us in the construction sector, we need to be more patient with Nigeria. Nigeria is a growing economy and will continue to grow.
“With the huge infrastructural gap in the country, the construction sector will continue to grow and any foreign investor in that sector is not likely to regret at the end.”
Wang however attributed the success story of the compnay which started business in 2013 to the support of stakeholders, particularly the staff and the host community.
“We placed premium on the welfare of our workers just as we have in our own little ways contributed to the development of our host community through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
“As for the staff, we have ensure regular training within and outside the country, provision of shelter, health insurance programme and provision of safety environment to work.
“For the community, we have built markets stores, provision of water and giving out palliative from time to time,” he stated.
Also,the Enogie (duke) of Ogua, ChiefOgie Aghaghowen, commended the steel company for creating an economic environment and also for ensuring peace in Ogua community.
“Not that we don’t have issues at all, but we have a way of resolving it,” he stated.
Meanwhile,Comrade Kassim Kadiri, National Secretary of National Union of Steel and Engineering Workers of Nigeria reacting to the face of between the organization and it’s workforce,said the challenges the union is having with the organization is that it has refused to allow the workers join the National Union of Steel and Engineering Workers
According to him”We got to know about the company in 2013, and we have tried to unionize the workers, but what they did was to organize some workers inside the company, who said that they don’t want a union. We wanted to meet the management, but they kept turning us around until 2014 when we declared a trade dispute against the management.
“Along the line, the Ministry of Labour in Edo State intervened. One Mr. Igbiniovia was one sent by the ministry to mediate and in 2O15, we signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the parties.
Among the agreements reached were: (a) recognition of the union by the company;(b ) that the management and the union should sit and discuss, so that the union can be formally inaugurated. The management didn’t honor this agreements until we declared another trade dispute in 2018.
“So by some intervention, they agreed to meet us again. At that meeting, the management arranged about 20 workers(supervisors)who met us and said they don’t want a union. So we left them until 2021 when some workers came to us in Lagos and said we should come and unionize them. So when we came to Benin for that purpose, the management said the MD has been away since the COVID-19 period. Even during the COVID-19 period, they did not allow anybody to go home they were locked up in the dormitory for months.
“On the 14th of September, 2021 the workers held an election, and officers were elected. So the next morning, they transferred the elected chairman to Kano, were they have a warehouse they gather scrab in Kano.We protested against it.
“The governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki also intervened and set up a committee to mediate, it was through the committee that it was discovered that none of the 900 workers there have employment letters since the beginning of the company.And we have been confronting them since then.” He concluded
