WORKERS OF Verise Industry Company Limited have expressed worry about the lack of enough protective gears for their work, which situation has resulted in most of them developing problems with their eyesight.

According to them, the heat, in addition to the chemicals that emanate from the machines in the production floor, where the males in particular work, is causing great harm to their health.

They explained that within the first minute when the machine was opened, the effect of the heat and vapour was immediately felt as it temporarily blinded the operators.

This, they complained, is making their work difficult and expressed fear of the potential harmful effect it may have on them in future, since their meager salary cannot even take care of their medical bills.

The workers, who stormed The Chronicle's premises, averred that their plea to management to provide them with goggles and nose pads, in addition to the gloves that were in poor state, had fallen on deaf ears. They alleged that to replace a worn out glove, a worker was asked to pay an amount of ¢20,000, which they found unreasonable.

The Chinese company, is a producer of unisex rubber sandals, that is sold between ¢15,000 - ¢20,000 on the Ghanaian market and according to the workers, most of the time, they had to use their hands to remove the scraps of the products left in the machine. According to them, portions of their arms and fingers get burnt in the process.

This problem, they noted, could have been minimized if there were overall gowns for their work. Additionally, the dusty floor, apart from making their feet dirty, also enters their nostrils exposing them to further health hazards, they told the paper.

They contended that they were paid meager amounts for the very tedious work they did, compared to their Chinese counterparts, whose job they claimed to be less tedious.

They continued that though they did the same job, they the Ghanaian workers, who virtually have no rest from their tiresome work, could be asked to replace a Chinese worker, to enable the latter have some time of rest. According to them, their work demanded lots of energy; hence, the need to take in something more than snacks that was all the twenty minutes break offered them could allow. This, they asserted drained them of strength, compounding the already bad situation.

The particular complaint of the ladies was that the wooden seats they used were very hard, without any cushions or upholstery leading to a lot of discomfort for their use. In addition to this discomfort, they also get burns from the glues they used for bonding the company's label onto the products.

Asked whether they have made these complaints known to management through a representative, they answered in the negative and added that anyone who attempted to protest to the conditions was immediately laid off. This they noted had necessitated in them turning to the media to draw the attention of management and the appropriate authorities to come to their aid.

Last, but not the least of their problems is the workers' desire to be given permanent employment status and improved conditions of service, such as working insurance. They also want better identity cards. Presently, all of them are casual workers while their I.D cards bear only their names without other vital information such as the company's name.

Responding to the workers' concerns, the assistant manager of the company, who doubles as the company's translator, Mr. Simba Chen, admitted to The Chronicle that the only protective kit available to the workers were the hand gloves.

He said none of the workers had so far presented any medical report to that effect, noting that in the mean time, they were doing their best to manage the situation.

He denied that the workers were required to pay for replacement of gloves, indicating that they are allowed to take the gloves home after working hours for safety and better management but some of them misplaced them with the intention of getting new ones.

According to him, they have imported one from China that would soon arrive, pointing out that the China made is more professional, and that most of the drugs currently in use in the absence of the first aid box, was given to the Ghanaian employees. To deal with the dust, he said they could all work together to use water in cleaning the dust, instead of the workers complaining all the time.

The assistant manager explained that their Chinese factory workers were part of management, saying some of them work as engineers and senior technicians, while others train the Ghanaian workers, and hence they were remunerated a bit higher than their Ghanaian counterparts.

He mentioned that the twenty minutes break might not be enough for eating, but too much of leisure time for eight hours of work may affect productivity, stressing that their working condition was not as bad as the impression being created by the workers.

Further, he stated that though management had made available plaster strips for the ladies to protect their fingers, they claimed it did not make their job very fast compared to working without them, and promised to cushion their seat for more comfort.

He continued that they were presently considering making some of the dedicated workers, particularly the group leaders permanent staff, and appropriately renew their identity cards.

He added that a month ago, they started giving the workers incentives such as Chinese rice, cash and other products to encourage them work more efficiently.

This is cache, read story here