Ragolis Waters Company, which was established in 1984 by the Gbadamosi family in Ikorodu through its Patriarch, late Chief Sule Oyesola Gbadamosi, and late Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi as its chairman, has finally closed down after 37 years of operation.
The water company, which was producing high quality bottled water from the popular Etunrenren stream in Ikorodu, was later joined by the Chagoury Group, a Lebanese Company which became the largest shareholders of the company.
The company has been flourishing since then. But for some time now, bottled water have not been available to the market expect to hotels, institutions and government.
However, since the closure of the company, last month more than sixty workers, most of whom have been with them since inception, have on daily basis, been protesting the closure for nonpayment of their pension and gratuities which they said were allegedly deducted.
In an interview with Oriwu Sun, he protesting workers accused the Lebanese management of fraud because according to them, their taxes and pensions were not remitted to the Federal Government despite deductions monthly basis.
The workers, accused the Lebanese of incompetence and embezzlement of fund.
They sacked many indigenous staff at will and treat the Nigerian workers as they dim fit.
The ineptitude of the Ragolis water management eventually lead to crumbling of the firm and the implosion continued till it culminated in shutting down in November 2021.
Things appeared under control to outsiders until first week of November 2021 when the Ragolis Company laid its staff off and forced them to leave the premises without proper severancepackages.
The unjustly discharged staff reacted by mounting a peaceful protest at the firm’s gate, which was sealed off by the owner. The notice on the gate reads that Ragolis Water Company has closed down since November 5, 2021, but when our staff spoke with the demonstrating staff, cans of worms unfolds.
According to the discharged staff, the management has been treating them unfairly for almost a year now and they have endured all the while only for the management to serve them sudden notice of disengagement from service without the due procedure.
As told by the retrenched staff we met at the company gate, the management had cut their salaries for months and they agreed to this measure as some of the staff had 4 months reduction of salary while others had 30 percent cut for several months.
The staff alleged that they all endure because they reasoned with the management that the company is still suffering from the impact the Covid-19 lockdown. However, the staffs were shocked when the management announced in the month of October 2021 that they are shutting down the plant and all workers should leave.
Of course, managements reserve the right to shutdown operations whenever they want, but they also need the staff consent to the decision. The problem began when the management paid its staff one month’s salaries and bid them farewell. When some of the staff asked for their severance benefits, they threatened them. The staff felt miserable after they could not provide record for pension fund and tax remittance for them. They started asking questions and bad blood soon ensued between the retrenched staff and the management.
Mr. Chris Fabamise, who was the chairman of the staff union, said that they are not angry that the management is laying them off, however, they should do so with all the statutory severance packages they have worked for.
He said the management lay off sixty-two workers (thirty-four senior staff) and other casual staff. “We are not happy how they management handled the matter. When the company lawyer informed us of the management decision on severance packages, they did without proper consultation.
After we complained of the loopholes, the lawyer published a letter with false claims that workers have been paid all entitlements. He informed the Ministry Of Labour that Rogolis management does not owe the retrenched staff any separation benefit. However, there are undisclosed issues of unremitted pension and taxes of staff to government agencies.”
The chairman of the workers union explained that the management Ragolis water are breaking the law on many sides especially when they judged and dealt with the staff using the employment handbook as a backdrop to deal with them in the past, now that it has come to laying off the staff the company no longer make reference to the articles of the employment handbook.
The staff argued that if the management did not hesitate in the past to meet judgment on staff through the stipulated articles contained in the handbook, the management must also follow the guidelines as contained in the handbook while dealing with them.
According to the dictates of the employment handbook, any worker that attain fifteen years of active service with the firm will be entitled to emolument.
The handbook stipulated that such staff will receive all full terminal benefits with emolument. “But the management didn’t care about any of these as they paid us only one month severance salary without pension fund and no tax clearance certificate issued to us. Instead we were told to approach government office and filed for artisan status for tax clearance.
How could they do that to us after they have been deducting PAYE taxes from us for years? They have been deducting pension fund from our salaries for years and we believe that they are remitting the deductions to the appropriate government agencies.
Unknown to us, the management never remitted our pension and tax deductions to the government and now they want to bully us after serving them for years.” Mr. Fabamise explained.
Mr. Chris Fabunmi who was employed in 1995 had rose through the ranks to become the production manager and chairman of the staff union. He said that he has no problem with the retrenchment but the management must give him his accrued entitlements.
Even if he can’t find any lucrative job at this age, he should be able to survive on his pension while he tries other means of livelihood to complement the pension stipend.
“I have spent my active years working for them, now that I may not be able to find new job due to my age, I should have access to my pension and not discarded like that.”
He lamented how the managing director had refused to address the issue but hide and pushed the company lawyer to do his dirty job.
Mr. David Shobowale, a former secretary to the staff union expressed his disappointment on how the management of Ragoslis water handled the retrenchment issue. “we are not fighting that the management should not retrench staff, but they must pay us the required benefits. All the tax and pension deductions must be remitted to the appropriate bodies so that they can pay us of dividends. Some of us have been working for them for long, there are staff who have been here for thirty three years, some eighteen years others fifteen years and suddenly they just want to throw everyone out without proper compensation.”
Mr. Ibitola Olufemi who had worked with Ragolis water for eighteen years said they had endured hard time with the company and all they are getting as reward is being laid off without emolument or pension. “There was no gratuity of any sort for us, no pension fund after they have deducted our salaries for years.
You won’t believe that the management completely ignored the Nigerian labour law and short paid us for years, for about three years we consented to receiving basic salaries without health insurance, transport allowance, and other stipulated allowances.
These we did for ten months and we were promised that they would revert to the standard pay after they put things in place.
We were happy that by august 2021 we start receiving our full monthly salaries but woke up to the obnoxious decision that they are shutting down due to the covid-19 impact on the business.
Yes, we cannot stop them from shutting down but they must follow due process.” Ibitola expressed his disappoint on the management after they brought in policemen to force them out of the premises without proper discussion of their severance package.
The middle age man who has many children said since the company started treating them in this manner, he had been having setbacks at home.
Two of his sons are about taking their WAEC exams but he has put hold to that because he can’t afford the expenses.
He lamented the fact that his older son who is studying Metallurgy and Mineral Resources at the Yaba College of Technology is at the verge of dropping out because he can’t afford tuition fees.
According to Comrade Adeyemo Seun, the sudden shut of the plant by the management is a ploy to get ride of the current workers and obliterate workers union. “It is a ploy to eliminate the company union which has been in place for years now. They are finding excuses to scrap the union so that they can treat staff they way they like without internal check.
Ever since the management brought in the current managing director seven years ago, Mr. Pierre Chadiac has been running the firm with iron fist. He sacked many fine senior staff for no cogent reason.
Our former Assistant General Manager Mr. Onofowokan Olufemi was wrongly sacked by Pierre Chadiac and Mr. Tajudeen Odofin another fine man was wrongly sacked too.”
Adeyemo believe that the management want to enslave staff by making them subservient and relegate them to contract status.
Other staff believe that the management is using the covid-19 as a cover up to retrench all staff now only to resume production afterwards by employing new set of staff on contract basis.
They said they have been resuming at the Ragolis water company gate 8am. and close 5:30 pm every day, to mark peaceful protest till the management and concerned authorities address the issues.
The protesting staff contributes cash, prepare food at the gate and feed themselves everyday they assemble at the company gate.