NLC pickets Wizchino in Abuja over workers' rights, safety and two deaths

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Wednesday began picketing Wizchino Engineering Company Limited, a Chinese-owned construction firm in Abuja, over allegations that it abuses workers' rights and ignores safety standards.

The action was led by the NLC's affiliate, the National Union of Civil Engineering Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW). Union leaders said they had written to the company and visited several times over workers' welfare and conditions of service, but got no meaningful response.

Workers from other NLC affiliates joined the protest in solidarity. The unions said the picketing will continue, with members running shifts at the premises, until management agrees to negotiate.

What the unions allege

NLC Acting General Secretary Benson Upah said the company does not allow workers to unionise and has no clear pay structure or adequate health and safety measures. "No individual, no organisation, no matter how powerful... has the power or the wherewithal to disobey the provisions of the Constitution and the body of labour law," he said.

He warned that the congress would not limit its response to street protests. "Any company that operates in breach of this should be prepared to face consequences not only on the street, but in the courtroom," he said, adding that firms unwilling to obey Nigerian law should leave the country.

NUCECFWW President Stephen Okoro, who is also an NLC vice-president, alleged that two workers died recently at separate sites linked to the company. He said there is no registered clinic where a worker can get emergency care, and that staff are not given safety boots, helmets or hand gloves.

Okoro also accused the company of a hire-and-fire approach, with workers employed and dismissed without clear terms. He said the union wants formal conditions of service that bind both employer and worker, and fair pay.

He alleged that the company has sometimes ignored the union's letters and used mobile police to intimidate labour representatives. The company has not responded publicly to the allegations, and none of the claims has been tested in court.

NUCECFWW General Secretary Ibrahim Walama said the camp "should not be a slave camp. Nigerian workers are not slaves. Nigerian workers' rights must be respected."

Why it matters

The unions say the absence of formal conditions of service could complicate efforts to establish responsibility and secure compensation when workers are injured or die. Okoro said the union wants a formal arrangement that clearly defines the obligations of both employer and workers.

The right to join a union and bargain collectively is protected under Nigerian labour law, and the NLC has said no company operating in Nigeria can disregard the country's labour laws and constitutional provisions guaranteeing freedom of association.

What happens next: The unions say they will return to the premises daily until management meets them. The NLC has warned it could widen the action across its affiliate unions, and says it may also take the matter to court.