A popular flour mill company in Aba State yesterday, picketed by the state’s chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress over inhuman working conditions in which the workers were being subjected to.

NLC accused management of the company which produces pasta, semolina and other allied products of enslaving workers who they allegedly paid a paltry N7,500 to N14,000 as monthly salary contrary to the N18,000 new minimum wage approved by the Federal Government.

Addressing journalists after picketing the company, Abia State Chairman of NLC, Comrade Silvanus Eyeh, said the workers in the flour mills had been subjected to untold hardship for over three months “just because they wanted to join labour union”.

According to the NLC boss, the company had earlier sacked 72 workers when they attempted to join labour union and later re-engaged few of them who recanted, while those who refused to succumb were left to their fate.

NLC further alleged that apart from the sacked workers, a few others were posted to work as water boys and truck assistants as punitive measures for attempting to join the union.

Eyeh described such attitude by the company’s management as callous, vowing that NLC will exploit every lawful means at its disposal to stop enslavement of workers both in the private and public sector.

Labour also frowned at the alleged casualisation of workers in the company, saying that such an act was in sharp contrast with federal government’s directive abolishing casualisation of workers in the country.

Eyeh said, “But in this flour mills workers are placed on casual basis and this is one of the things we are against which must be stopped.”

Efforts to speak with the management of the company were frustrated as no management staff was willing to speak on the matter.

But a source which pleaded for anonymity said, “We were told that the company does not have the funds to pay the workers and we were never given any sack letter.”