Visionscape: Truck drivers threaten to down tools, protest 3 appointment letters, pay cut

Truck drivers, working with Visionscape Group, an environmental waste management company in Nigeria, have alleged that some unknown persons were playing hanky-panky games with their appointment letters and salaries.

According to the driver, each of the letters, from three different companies allegedly under the instruction of Visionscape Group, had different salary structures.

One of the men said: “We’re sure Governor of Lagos State Akinwunmi Ambode is not aware of the issues going on with Visionscape Group. We want him to know. This is beginning to look like a scam. We were issued three different appointment letters, illegal deductions’ of salaries, all within one year. There is also the issue of unfair labour practices. We’re appealing to the Lagos State government to come to our aid.”

Another said the third appointment letters were dated March 1, 2018.

He added: “These letters all came with different terms and conditions. The last letter was where salaries were cut and the terms showed we were no longer entitled to pension, gratuity, closing and resumption time. We’re planning to go on strike as we have refused to sign the last letter.”

He further noted: “Our verbal agreement with the company before we resigned from our various jobs was N120, 000 monthly, but they delayed the appointment letters two months. They eventually came up with N90, 000 and since most of us have already quit from our former jobs, we were left with no option than to accept that money. We were still nursing that pain of betrayal, when they came up with the second appointment letters, slightly different, but had same salary of N90, 000.”

He said that the third appointment letters, which broke the camel back, was the cut of their salaries from N90, 000 to N62, 000.

The worker fumed: “The third letter did show any plan for insurance of any kind and contribution of pension scheme. Now, we were expected to work 12 hours per day, six days in a week, depending on workload and no payment of overtime. There’s even no compensation of any kind.”

Another truck driver, who like the rest, also wishes to remain anonymous, explained that the first appointment letters were issued by Visionscape Nigeria, the second by Standard Drivers Loaders Limited and the third by Standard Streetmanpower Limited.

Another hissed and said: “I left my job, where I was earning N80, 000 to come to work for Visionscape Group. I cannot go back to my former company because it has a policy that whenever a worker leaves, he or she cannot be absolved. If I had known that this is how Visionscape would turn out, I wouldn’t have left my former place of work.”

“The white people who employed us as truck drivers promised us good welfare packages tailored along international standard practice,” said another driver.

He added: “One of our directors, who manage the Human Resources Department, is the brain behind these challenges we are facing. He is the person introducing these anti-workers policy.”