A woman, simply identified as Aina, was Monday, badly wounded after policemen used teargas to disperse protesting workers at the Linda Manufacturing Company on Iju Road, Lagos State.
Aina was reportedly hit in the face by a teargas canister which damaged the bridge of her nose.
The protest, which started at about 8am, was staged by the workers of the company to register their disapproval of the alleged sack of 10 workers.
It was learnt that about 10 workers, including executives of the workers’ union in the company, were sacked. Their letters were said to have been dispatched by courier to their houses on Saturday and Sunday.
The General Secretary of the National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees, Douglas Adiele, who spoke on the issue, told The Punch that the grouse with the management of Linda company started the previous week when workers went on strike and demanded that the company stopped giving them “unrealistic targets.”
According to Adiele, workers who are unable to complete the tasks are given demerits and when the demerits have reached 27 points, they are disengaged. He said the workers had been given targets to complete about 350 tasks in a day, which many of the workers had been unable to achieve.
“The affected workers were disengaged without negotiating their benefits with the union. The union will picket the company if by Wednesday, the management refuses to recall the sacked workers,” Adiele said.
One of the protesting workers, who identified himself as Tunji, disclosed that the management started with a target of 160 in 2015, which kept on increasing until it reached 350.
It was gathered that during the Monday protest, the workers destroyed some equipment and computer systems in the company.
The Human Resources Manager of the company, Ms. Lara Folajimi, when contacted, said she could not comment on the issue.
She said, “Right now I cannot explain anything. I cannot answer any questions for now.”
Confirming the incident, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, SP Dolapo Badmos, said Aina’s injury was not from a gunshot.
She said, “She is one of the protesters in the company. They became so riotous that they beat the foreign nationals who are the company owners. They scaled the fence and snatched the passports of their employers.
“The policemen on guard duty were attacked and during the scuffle, the riot gunner of one of the policemen on duty exploded and hit the lady. She is currently receiving treatment in a hospital.”
Meanwhile, the victim was rushed to the Ikeja General Hospital where she is reportedly receiving treatment.
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