Lagos-Calabar Highway: Cross River Workers Demand Reinstatement of Liaison Officer, Improved Working' Conditions

Ani Bassey, 

Calabar 

There was tension on Wednesday at Awi in Akamkpa Local Government Area of Cross River State as about 600 workers of Hitech Construction Company downed tools at the Section 3B yard of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.

The workers, who blocked the entrance to the construction yard, accused the site management of unfair treatment, arbitrary salary cuts and intimidation, and called for the immediate reinstatement of the State Liaison Officer, Mr Asuquo Ukpanyang.

It was gathered that military personnel were deployed to secure the facility at the project’s take-off point in the state to prevent breakdown of law and order.

According to the workers, the crisis stemmed from the alleged refusal of expatriates on the project to work with Ukpanyang, preferring a Community Liaison Officer they could control.

A Quality Control staff, Esikere Peter, told journalists that the company slashed payable working hours from eight to two hours and cancelled night shift allowances even though some workers were still kept on duty till 11 p.m.

“We are not here to destroy property. We only want fair treatment and dignity for Nigerian workers,” Peter said.

Other workers backed his claim. Stephen Oke, a trailer driver, alleged intimidation and disrespect by expatriates, while Ana Matthew, who works in the earth-moving and levelling section, said workers operated under harsh weather without shelter and were intimidated with military presence.

Matthew further alleged that earnings had been cut despite working day and night, and that scrap materials formerly shared among workers were now being sold without their consent.

Female workers at the site also complained of lack of separate restrooms for women, while expatriates had multiple facilities.

In his reaction, Ukpanyang said he stood in solidarity with the workers and confirmed he had received complaints about salary deductions and unpaid entitlements.

He added that the wife of the Cross River State Governor, Mrs Eyoanwan Otu, had previously intervened on workers’ welfare with Hitech management, assuring that he would escalate the matter to the company’s senior management, the Federal Controller of Works and the Minister of Works.

As of the time of filing this report, Hitech Construction Company had not responded to enquiries on the development.