By Tony Nyong

UYO – No fewer than 1,700 staff of Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria, ALSCON, in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State, have protested against what they described as prolonged and insufferable injustice and discrimination against Nigerians in the company by the Russian management.

Similarly, former workers of the company, also protested non-payment of their entitlements and benefits four years and eight months after the company was privatised.

The angry staff protested against the prevalent institutionalised insensitivity of the Russian management, called on President Goodluck Johnathan to make good his last year’s promise to ensure their severance pay was given to them.

Citing the injustices to include what they described as “Russian style of hard work- poor pay,” the workers said while the highest paid Nigerian worker at the management level was receiving N300,000 as salary, the least paid Russian expatriate in the same company goes home with over N800,000 monthly even when they ( Nigerians ) are the ones actually doing the work.

They said the Russians also receive a fortnightly allowance of N40,000 to N50,000 for entertainment, an amount most Nigerian workers don’t receive even as salary.

The workers decried the death of five of their members due to the deplorable condition they have been subjected to a result of the company policy, and gave management 14 days ultimatum to settle their outstanding benefits or face their wrath.