SOCIAL INVESTIGATION - Twyford factory, Senegalese workers in the hell of Chinese ceramics

A FINGER CUT OFF... 

September 25, 2021, around 8 a.m. Mor Talla was left with one finger missing and two others shattered by the propeller of his working machine. He was handling a block of tiles with his bare hands in the glazing department of the Twyford Chinese tile factory in Sindia (about 60 km from Dakar on the Petite côte). The company doctor refused to treat him, as he did not have the necessary instruments. The worker spends three hours there, between the indifference of the Chinese and the “inhuman pain” he feels. The pressure on his group leader led him to push the Chinese around. At 11 a.m., he was finally taken to Mbour, where a nurse's aide treated him “without anesthetic and without delicacy”. It took the intervention of a retired midwife for the main doctor to have a more qualified nurse take over the care. He says this left him traumatised. 

“Then I went home with some painkillers. I gathered the money I had left and what my family had given me to buy the prescribed medicines.Apart from the expenses paid by the Chinese in Mbour, I took care of myself with the help of my mother and close friends.I had to pay for the treatment I continued to receive, and I had to get to the health center.But 45 days later, the pain was still there, because the care hadn't been done properly on the whole.Then I noticed huge cuts in my salary... For the Chinese, I apparently no longer existed...”.

WORKPLACE ACCIDENTS AND DISCRIMINATION 

At the end of his fixed-term contract, Mor Talla never returned to the factory to work. Dejected and angry. Disgusted, above all, by the indifference of his employers! He decided to quit. For him, it was a way of denouncing the multi-faceted violence against which his comrades still at work are railing. 

“In the event of an accident in the factory, Senegalese workers are not properly looked after. What happened to our friend and comrade Mor Talla, others experience it quite often. It's a reality at the Sindia plant. And anyone who becomes disabled in the course of his work is fired,” says Gorgui*, an in-house trade unionist, speaking on condition of anonymity. Not without denouncing the favors enjoyed by the Chinese and some of their Senegalese relatives. 

“If they suffer a work-related accident, they can benefit from more appropriate treatment”, adds our interlocutor.   

On the outskirts of the Sindia factory, we meet an employee who claims to have been the victim of a work accident at the same time as a Chinese worker. He shows us a large scar on one part of his body at the request of one of his colleagues.   

“When the case arose, the Chinese man was placed in a 4X4 and taken to a clinic in Dakar. His co-worker was left behind. It was his foreman who called a cab to take him to Mbour hospital. And it was the employee himself who took out his own money to take care of himself and pay all his medical expenses,” reveals Gorgui in a dejected tone. 

To support their comrade, the workers have opened a “small makeshift social work” - in the words of the trade unionist - with various contributions.  

Safety is a strong demand of the Twyford Sindia workers, but one accident follows another. In June 2024, one of them fell from the top of his workstation. His head hit the floor. “The Chinese were alerted and arrived on the scene. Their first concern was to find out whether our colleague had his seatbelt fastened at the time of the accident”, says the indignant employee reporting this episode.  

The unfortunate man, transferred to Mbour, ended up in Thiès, his condition having worsened. “The idea of the belt being fastened or not, it's just not to take charge of the accident victim,” suggests a worker. 

Gorgui and many other employees have to be discreet inside the company to avoid being noticed as unionists.” The Chinese could sack us and it would be of no consequence to them,” he maintains. 

Between April and May 2021, some thirty employees, including union delegates demonstrating for better working conditions, were taken to court by Twyford management. Accused of vandalizing company property, they were charged by an examining magistrate and then released provisionally. They never set foot in the plant again. Today, their “successors” are committed to setting up a real union. 

HEALTH AND SAFETY COMMITTEE 

A morning in April 2024. The noise in the factory is infernal. In some places, it's hard to hear for ten meters. Thousands of cartons of tiles are in stock in a warehouse that looks twice the size of a soccer pitch. The labeled packages stand some six meters high and stretch as far as the eye can see. Yellow floor markings delineate the lanes used by Chinese-made off-road mobile machines. On each of them, a driver in a helmet and an agent in a fluorescent jacket form a pair. They review the stocks of tiles due to leave the site. Outside, a small group of laborers await orders to load a fleet of trucks awaiting departure. 

  
At lunchtime, the workers complain about the quality of the meals served and the discrimination introduced by company management. 

The Chinese have their own restaurant, which also caters for Senegalese executives we call “Black Chinese” because of their complicity with management. But for us, it's like a gargote,” says Gorgui. He denounces the quality of the meals, as well as their cost to the workers. 

“We are charged 900 CFA francs for poor quality and insufficient quantity of food”, says Bachir, who takes the opportunity to raise another recurring problem. “Access to drinking water is regularly interrupted, which is unacceptable given the infernal heat in the factory and the long working hours.  

These various aspects were brought to the attention of a labor inspector, who requested anonymity before providing his insight.   

“In every company, the law requires the installation of a well-equipped room or refectory with well-maintained toilets if there are at least 15 employees. And for 50 employees or more, an occupational health and safety committee must be set up.  

The task of this committee is to prevent accidents in the workplace by identifying anything considered dangerous to the safety of workers throughout the company's workspace,” stresses the senior civil servant.  

After referring to Title 11 of the Labor Code, the inspector confides that he and some of his colleagues have to deal with “3 or 4 complaints from workers against their employers” every day. And the Chinese are always on the front line, he adds. 

Twyford - renamed Keda (Sn) Ceramics Company Limited - is a Chinese industrial company specializing in the manufacture of ceramic tiles. The factory was inaugurated in January 2020 by former Senegalese President Macky Sall, thanks to an investment of 35 billion CFA francs, according to senegal-export.com.  

Its daily production capacity is said to be around 55,000 square meters of tiles. Some of this is exported, in particular to the West African sub-region, by truck to Gambia, Mali, Mauritania and Guinea. Another part can be exported by air, thanks to the close proximity of the Baise Diagne International Airport (AIBD) in the neighboring town of Diass. The remainder would reduce Senegal's tile imports, which stand at around 80,000 tonnes a year. 

TO READ - (The first industrial base for ceramic tiles in ...senegal-exporthttps://www.senegal-export.com ' actualites ' la-premie....)  

STARVATION WAGES AND ENDLESS FIXED-TERM CONTRACTS 

For those with whom we spoke for weeks through various channels, the manufacture of ceramic tiles - with its various stages - has become a daily hell. Exposed to gas and the infernal noise of large machines, they have to withstand the physical and psychological constraints of assembly-line work. Some of them have to stand for twelve hours at a time in the factory's various workshops. Under constant pressure from the Chinese or, more often, from their local agents. 

“At the end of each month, I'm convinced that my investment in this job isn't being rewarded for what it's worth. Every day, I see colleagues who spend a good part of their working hours with their legs crossed over their desks. They get paid more than I do, thanks to their affinity with internal decision-makers”, rants Bachir*.  

In undercover mode, the Chinese are rarely seen in the factory's huge walk-in area. They are secluded in their offices, some of which resemble converted containers, and only leave them to pass on instructions to certain employees.    

Bachir is a worker in his thirties. With his cheerless expression, his body language flirts with resignation.   

“My satisfaction comes from trying to take care of my family with the little I have: food supplies, paying water and electricity bills, helping my parents. Waiting for the next paycheck... Savings? I don't think about it because my salary level doesn't allow me to do so anyway. I live from day to day, but God is great...”  

In an affirmative tone, another worker who belongs to the “unionist” group stresses that “in any case, 90% of the company's employees don't have 130,000 CFA francs”.  

For most workers, the basic monthly salary does not exceed 73 thousand CFA francs, according to several pay slips we consulted. The workload is 12 hours a day, 6 days a week.  

“How can a State with the means and control services to let workers, Senegalese or foreign, work 12 hours a day with only one day off in the week, and receive such derisory wages,” he asks? The Chinese are slavers,” he adds, ”and we get the impression that they have the backing to do whatever they want with their employees.  

If the pay is “miserable”, absences are harshly punished, says Bachir. “The Chinese take 12,500 FCFA from us for each day we don't work. They don't even take into account the reason for absence, which can be death, illness, baptism, etc.”, he asserts. “If you're absent three days in a row, they fire you”.  

TO READ : Twyford's Solemn Declaration (Press release)DAKARACTU.COMhttps://www.dakaractu.com ' Twyford's Solemn Declaration (Press release)DAKARACTU.COMhttps://www.dakaractu.com ' Twyford's Solemn... 

Bachir has been on one fixed-term contract after another at Twyford since he was recruited. His first obsession remains the pay slip, which he brandishes to denounce the “misery” in which he says he lives. A stress he shares with dozens of other workers.  Like Sidate*.  

He denounces the lack of concern shown by the Chinese for the safety of workers, who are faced with insufficient personal protective equipment (PPE). “And even if there is some, it proves unsuitable for the specific working conditions in certain departments.  

“The products we work with are toxic and dangerous to inhale. We can go for weeks without masks and gloves to protect us from the itching that can occur when we come into contact with these products. For the Chinese and their close Senegalese collaborators, we just have to be an efficient workforce. They demand that we submit to their objectives. 

Sidate almost resigned in the early days of his arrival at the company. “It was my group leader who motivated me and convinced me to stay,” he says. 

The mechanical nature of the work imposed on workers, its intensity and insecurity, can end in tragedy. Libasse* still remembers the suffering of his cousin Mor Talla. “It was only thanks to the contacts of a company executive that he was able to receive medical treatment, and even then...” He too is on fixed-term contracts.  

He too has been on fixed-term contracts since joining the Sindia company. With no prospect of ever getting a taste of a permanent contract.  

“It's still an objective if I'm to stay with this company for a long time. But when I see that there are old hands who have been here since the beginning with an unchanged status, I say to myself that I've got to stop dreaming”, says the young man.   

Indeed, there are worse things than him, points out another Twyford “unionist”. “Employees have been at the plant since the installation phase, and right up to the moment I'm talking to you, they're all signing 06-month contracts, which is contrary to what we know about the Labour Code”.  

According to the people we spoke to, workers are not recruited on permanent contracts after having honored several fixed-term contracts. Some are even simply dismissed by the Chinese, who thus avoid disputes with the labor inspectorate and, possibly, the courts.   

“Even when they need a new group leader, they prefer to go and get someone from outside the factory who knows nothing about the job. It could be a student whom we old hands train to become our leader. Experienced workers, on the other hand, hardly ever get promoted”, says one of the trade unionists.   

RANK ADVANCEMENT 

With regard to human resources management, Twyford is also accused of making increasing use of “forced lay-offs”. This system deprives certain workers of many days' work and therefore of financial income. It's not an innocent strategy, notes the union contact quoted above.  

“Many of our contacts have denounced the increasing presence of foreign migrants in the factory, generally Guineans or other nationalities passing through Senegal. We think that the Chinese are choosing them as illegal workers, so that they can pay them even lower wages than we do, without any state control”.  

This raises the question of promotion within the company. According to our information, Twyford has around 1,500 employees in all categories. We were unable to verify this figure with management. 

“The Chinese have criteria that only they understand. From what we've seen over the years, they rarely take skills or diplomas into account when advancing workers in rank. They rely solely on their own objectives. It's a roundabout way of punishing deserving workers whom they suspect of unionizing inside the factory”, explains Bachir, who points to this as his second obsession after the pay slip.   

A labor inspector who requested anonymity explains the reason for the stagnation of certain workers in terms of rank, even though they have been with the company for several years. “The advancement of an employee in the hierarchy is codified. While it is compulsory in the civil service, it is not in the private sector, where it is left to the discretion of the employer”.  

“TWYFORD MAY BE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE INVESTMENT CODE”. 

What if the workers at the Twyford factory in Sindia were the victims of the facilities that labor law offers investors in their first years of operation?  

According to our investigations, Twyford does indeed have approval under Senegal's Investment Code, but we were not given the date on which this sought-after stamp of approval was obtained. This document, issued by the Agence de promotion des investissements et grands travaux (APIX), allows Twyford to derogate from certain intangible principles of labor law in Senegal. Workers pay the price directly.  

“If the company has obtained approval for the project, the employer can issue and renew fixed-term contracts (CDD) for a period of 5 years without infringing the provisions of the law. Basically, the idea is to help investors achieve a successful return on their investment and encourage entrepreneurs to create jobs”, explains the labor inspector.   

However, the date on which this approval takes effect is “extremely important”, he adds.  

“Any investor meeting the criteria for approval is eligible. But this derogation on fixed-term contracts can only be applied to employees recruited after the approval has been obtained, and not to those who were previously with the company. 

According to the tedmaster.org platform, adherence to the investment code offers several advantages to companies: tax exemptions, investment facilities, tax benefits, transfer of profits and capital, legal guarantees, etc.  

Approval is divided into two stages: approval to proceed and approval to operate.  

The first concerns the advantages offered to the investor during the company's start-up period. It is this approval that enables the employer to renew CDDs for several years.  

The “agrément d'exploitation” is another package of facilities offered to the company once its activities have actually begun.  

Twyford has thus been able to benefit from duty-free packages on materials and equipment essential to the production of ceramic tiles but unavailable in Senegal. It was also able to obtain suspensions on the payment of value-added tax (VAT) in its transactions with local suppliers concerning products required for its factory operations. 

According to the specialized website senegal-export.com, “the raw materials used for (the manufacture of tiles) come from the regions of Kaolack, Kédougou, Tambacounda and Thiès”.  

CONCERNS ABOUT IPRES CONTRIBUTIONS  

Employer deductions for the Institut de prévoyance retraite (IPRES) are another source of concern for Twyford workers. They are listed on all the pay slips we have collected. They should therefore be in the IPRES coffers. But are they? Twyford employees say they have no idea. 

“Many of us have tried to find out from management or human resources. But we've never received a reply. They always end up letting us off with promises,” says Sidate.   

According to the aforementioned labor inspector, “social charges are incompressible for all companies operating in Senegal”.   

In the absence of an in-house union to deal with their concerns, some workers are considering obtaining this information from the Mbour IPRES agency to which they belong. 

Does Twyford pay pension contributions to the Mbour IPRES agency? When questioned, the head of the agency replied: “This matter does not concern you, as you are not a party to it; only the plant's employees can obtain such information from us. 

Pay slips also include the lump-sum contribution payable by employers (CFCE). “This is equivalent to 3% of the company's payroll and must be paid “no later than the 15th of the following month”. However, “since 2019, all new business start-ups are exempt from CFCE for a period of 3 years”, points out a specialist in employment law.   

This exemption can even be extended for a further 5 years “if the jobs created as part of the approved investment program exceed 200, or if at least 90% of the jobs created are located outside the Dakar region”.  

IS THE LABOR INSPECTORATE A WEAK LINK?  

Twyford's employees have a strong grudge against the labor inspectorate, which they accuse of complicity with Chinese employers. “Our whole problem is the labor inspectors. If there were sanctions, billaahi (in God's name), the contractors would respect their workers. We're being treated like slaves in our own country,” Sidate fulminates. 

“Cases where workers' complaints are upheld by a labor inspector are almost non-existent. And even if they are, the decisions are almost never applied against the Chinese,” complains Bachir. 

labor inspectors forwarded 582 cases to the ...Agence de presse sénégalaise - APShttps://aps.sn ' conflits-individuels-de-travail-les-inspect... 

In the absence of union officials equipped to conduct negotiations with Chinese employers, workers are not always aware of changes in labor laws and the advantages they offer investors. But the labor inspector interviewed above doesn't seem to condemn the practices of Twyford's Chinese employees.  

He goes on to point out the inadequacy of the resources allocated to the corps of labor inspectors, their reduced numbers and the immensity of the tasks they have to perform. Senegal currently has 21 labor inspectors and 47 labor inspectors, i.e. a total of 78 senior civil servants to deal with the affairs of 400,000 workers. However, the International Labor Office (ILO) recommends a ratio of 1 labor inspector for every 40,000 workers in developing countries, explains a labor law specialist. 

Added to this is the “arrogance” of some employers and the “sense of impunity” of others.  

For the year 2023, the Department of Labor Statistics revealed that out of 582 cases of individual labor disputes referred to the courts by labor inspectors, 151 were due to “the employer's absence after several summonses”.  

Most of these cases concern the Dakar and Thiès regions. The Twyford factory in Sindia is in the Thiès “jurisdiction”... 

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TWYFORD: NO INTERLOCUTORS! 

For three months, it was impossible for us to meet Twyford's management or any of the plant's managers. A global lockdown was put in place at all levels likely to be gateways to information. Several people close to in-house management have more or less clearly stated their fear of speaking out (even off the record) for fear of reprisals. Some made appointments outside the company, but never kept them. Others came up with last-minute pretexts, eventually giving up on any interview, even off the record. We tried repeatedly - in vain, of course! - to contact the economic and commercial advisor at the Chinese Embassy in Senegal. 

A feeling of suspicion seems to have crept into the factory. But there are still some brave workers who have taken the risk of telling their stories, feelings, disappointments and fears, and all of them are almost without hope... We protect them with pseudonyms in the text. Except for Mor Talla, the accident victim quoted at the beginning of the article... 

Translation in french by deepl
 

 THE FRENCH VERSION : 

ENQUETE SOCIALE - Usine Twyford, les ouvriers sénégalais dans l’enfer de la céramique chinoise