By peter uzoma
Undoubtedly, Roche Company is a household name in Imo State. Before 2011, the name Roche only existed as an Irish firm without vested interest in Nigeria. However, the coming of Rochas Okorocha’s government saw the existence of the establishment in the state.
The insignia of Roche has become a label and brand in Imo State with the company becoming a dominant contractor handling several meaningful projects in the state.
Apart from buying multi-million naira Adapalm Oil Mill for 20 years at an amount said to be running into billions of naira, Roche is involved in the construction of several state projects. The company is handling the building of all pre-cast school structures in the 365 electoral wards in the state including the magnificent new Township School building on Wetheral Road Owerri single-handedly. Roche’s tremendous interest in contract jobs in the state can pass unnoticed but the alleged manhandling and humiliation of its employees of Imo extraction, otherwise known as “black workers” is brewing uneasy calm and attracting negative attention.
Since the company commenced operation in the state and occupied the site left behind by Julius Berger at Onitsha Road Industrial Layout Owerri, it has in its staff strength numerous “black workers” from the state, undertaking both skilled and unskilled jobs at different levels.
However, the ill-treatment alleged to have been meted to the “black workers” who are of Imo descent came to the fore recently when an artisan got bruised by a security operative attached to the firm, while another worker in a letter lamented the untold hardship they are going through.
Had Mr Onyekachi John Asagwara had a premonition of humiliation and intimidation coming to him from his employer Roche Group, he would not have gone to work on the 7th day of March, 2013.
According to Mr Asagwara, a vulcunizer with the Roche Group, his misfortune and tribulation started on that day as he reported to office for the day’s job. He told our reporter that on getting to office, he went to his boss, one Mr Usman from Benue who is in charge of logistics for the day’s job card.
However, on his way the Human Resource Manager’s subordinate called him to the HR’s office, gave him a letter and asked him to sign. When he asked the officer the content of the letter, he was told that it was a termination letter. Mr Asagwara said that for having not received any earlier warning or query, he declined signing preferring to wait for the HR officer, Agonsi Vivian, to confirm before signing, as he went back to his duty post to continue his job.
He went further to disclose that it didn’t take time when the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the company marched towards him with a soldier. On getting to him, the Soldier dragged him to the HR’s Office and ordered him to sign the said termination letter under duress which he declined to do except a confirmation from the HR. Said he “Before I could say anything, the soldier bounced on me like a wounded lion, beating and hitting me like a common criminal with his boot and gun butt while the CSO watched in admiration. In the process of the assault, I sustained serious injuries, and wounds that led to too much lost of blood, without any first aid and treatment from my employers. For fear of further attack and victimisation since Roche Company has police and Army personnel, I went to a private clinic to treat myself and failed to report to police.”
When the HR, Ms Vivian Agonsi was contacted for the company’s reaction, she sent a text message that read:
“He was laid off on grounds of gross misconduct, violent behaviour and involvement in theft. His issue with the soldiers was his personal issue and has nothing to do with Roche as he had insulted the soldiers after he has slapped the company’s Chief Security Officer. He is from Irete pls confirm from Collins Nlemibe 08064808702 who is the Community Liaison Officer (CLO). Collins advised the company to sack him due to his improper behaviour. The Chief Security Officer can also confirm that he was slapped by this guy”
Trumpeta went ahead to call the said Collins Nlemibe (CLO), who confirmed that he only told the company to take decision according to their rules and regulation, when their complain against Asagwara became much.
Corroborating the victim’s account, another staff, Mr Odinaka who alleged that he too was sacked for not supporting the unjust treatment and sack of Mr Asagwara, told Trumpeta on phone that the company is very unfair to the black staffers. In his words “we were treated like slaves in that company, infact am very happy to leave that slave camp called Roche Group. We went through hell but nobody came to our rescue” he lamented.
A worker, Onyegbulem Onyemechi residing at Irete had in a letter to Trumpeta raised the issue of alleged on going slavery, torture, intimidation and humiliation by the Irish management of Roche Construction Company, Irete.
Said he “We the blacks especially the Imolites are under hostage at Irete just because we are working with the Irish company, contributing our little quota to help rescue the Imo inline with rescue mission agenda
“The Irish MD has taken us to hostage since we started work with them and everybody including the GLO there (Mr. Jude) is afraid to voice out the tyrannical management for fear of being fired.
He sees the treatment going on day and night there and could only advise us to demonstrate which can not be possible as we do not have workers union and the management will fire immediately anybody that leads.
“Situation where if a worker is sick for a day, and did not come to work, you lose one week salary. If a tyre of any vehicle burst mostly caused by overload of the vehicles with the heavy materials we work with which the management do not bother about the tonnage the vehicles to carry it, the driver bears the cost of the tyre from his salary.
“We work overtime without payment, sometimes on Sundays. Everybody is afraid of raising his voice for fear of being victimized since the management has bluntly refused us to have worker’s union.
“The immeasurable margin between the white workers and black colleagues of the same rank that work even longer hours, cannot be over emphasized. A situation where a black supervisor or manager that work longer hour than his white colleague and even more qualified received salary ten time less than that of the white colleague. To talk of field workers in a pathetic situation and many other misdemeanours”
Responding over these allegations, the Human Resources Manager of the company, explained that the policy of salary deduction is to check unnecessary and baseless exemption excuses from workers and careless driving by drivers. On the issue of overtime, she argued that the company pays N3000 for
