Management of Chevron Nigeria Limited and security agents battled for several hours on Friday to free some foreign nationals working for one of its contracting firms, Hyundai Heavy Industry (HHI) held hostage by protesting staff of the company.
The foreign nationals, mostly Philipinos, Indians and Koreans, were working on the Escravos-Gas-TO Liquid project 3 otherwise known as EGP3 when the senior staff of HHI suddenly locked them up in their various cabins in the house boat occupied by them.
Sunday Tribune learnt that the Senior Staff were protesting against the employment of the foreigners, who were said to be novice in their business, at the expense of qualified Nigerians.
Security sources said the foreigners were employed as administrators, crane drivers and welders with fabulous salaries while their Nigerian counterparts of equal status were being paid slave wages.
“They brought in the foreigners as engineers and technical experts only to become supervisors to Nigerian workers from whom they eventually learnt the trade yet they are well paid to the detriment of their Nigerian counter parts”, he said.
Some of the senior workers who spoke to Sunday Tribune on condition of anonymity said the issue of no formal work structure and salary schedule has been at the bottom of a lingering collective bargaining process between the management of HHI and the Union for quite some time, adding that their recent negotiation ended in a fiasco and that they were left with no other option than to embark on the action.
They disclosed that Chevron Nigeria Limited, CNL, the project owners are however in the process of entering into dialogue with them to resolve the issues but they insisted that it is only a meaningful outcome of any negotiation that would put a stop to their action.
Mr. Chima Nwogu of the Public Affairs department, Chevron Nigeria Limited, Warri office declined comment when he was called on phone to know the position of the company on the issue. Further efforts to reach him proved abortive as his GSM phone was said to be switched off.
Nov182007