Joy Atane
The National Union of Food Beverage and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE) has suspended picketing and other industrial action planned against Deli Food for the company’s alleged anti labour activities.
Recall that the union had shut down the operation of the company recently alleging that the company was proposing to sack over 300 workers without compensation.
After hours of intense negotiations, the management of Deli Food and the union have reached agreement over the way forward in the crisis.
The union has also accused Deli Food management of stopping gratuity for the workers since 2012, adding that there has been a lot of anti labour practices in the company.
Speaking with journalists after the meeting with the management of the company, Deputy General Secretary of the union who led the protest, Mike Olanrewaju said the management of the company has promised to address and resolve all the issues raised by the union, adding that there is no cause for alarm.
“We’ve suspended our action for now, the management has denied that they want to sell the company without negotiating the exit package for our members.
“In the same vein, on the issue of gratuity, the management has given us their words that it will be revisited,” he said.
He explained that specifically, the protest was centred on the alleged plan of the company to lay off over 300 workers without compensation as a result of ploy to sell the companies without considering the fate of the workers.
The President of the union, Lateef Oyelekan had said, “It was our members working in the company that came to alert us. According to them all the plans have been concluded.
“The company is owned by foreigners and what they are doing is to sell the company secretly and run away without settling the workers.
“I wondered why foreigners will want to maltreat and shortchange Nigerians in their own country. Whereas they cannot do such things in their countries.
The NUFBTE president said the best practice according to the labour law is for the company to call the union for negotiation that will determine the proper exit package for the workers.
Oyelekan noted that the company had initially stopped gratuity for the workers since 2012, adding that there has been a lot of anti labour practices in the company.
“There supposed to be a process to shutting down. The management have to discuss with the union, pay workers entitlement before handing over to any buyer and the buyer must be ready to take over the liability,” he said.