*Demand return of the employees back to business of the company
Photo: Madam Black standing 4th from left with other GCM staff workers
By Toby Chuks
Over 3000 Employees of General Cotton Mill (GCM) Nigeria Limited, a renowned textile manufacturing company have sent a Save Our Soul Message to the Governor of Anambra State Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo telling Governor Soludo that they are dying of hunger and starvation since they were pushed out of the business of the company without reason and without any move or arrangement to pay them staff benefits.
Addressing journalists at Onitsha shortly after their meeting, the employees led by Chief Mrs Grace Anaekwe a right activist popular known as Madam Black who is a director in GCM said that leading directors and some major shareholders in GCM during the administration of Mr Peter Obi as governor of Anambra State decided to unjustly stop the staff workers of the textile manufacturing at GCM from working without any formal notice
Madam Black explained “sometime during the administration of Peter Obi, leading directors and major shareholders in GCM decided to organise Annual General Meeting (AGM) without involving the staff workers who have 0.8% share of the company. It was during the AGM that they decided to stop the workers from being part of the business of the company and consequently over 3700 staff of the company who have toiled in rain and shine to grow the company suddenly became jobless till today”
According to her “I am a director in GCM from Anambra State. GCM is originally owned by old Eastern Region which is now 7 States including Abia, Anambra, Ebony, Enugu, Delta, Imo and Rivers State respectively. I became a director after 25years of selling GCM products in Onitsha. GCM products were the leading quality in textile markets all over the Nigeria. GCM was producing material for NYSC uniform and wrapper for Christian mothers all over the Churches in Nigeria”
She wondered why the leading directors and major shareholders of the company should muster such a high degree of wickedness on employees that have toiled and laboured so much to grow the company lamenting that GCM as a strong economic base with high rate of employment opportunities which suppose to be expanding to other location with all it takes to continue to enhance economic growth is being handled in such a bad way.
She went further ” GCM suppose to our own Dangote Cement enhancing the economy and proving job opportunities for men, women and youth as labourers, salesmen, drivers among others but unfortunately is being handled roughly with no regard to employees. It is most unfortunate. So we are appealing to Governor Soludo to do something about the situation. Some of the employees have died and very sick and if nothing happens all of us will die without reaping the benefits of our Labour”
