By Abdullahi Jalaludeen
The National Association of Scrap and Waste Dealers Employers of Nigeria has commenced a 15-day nationwide warning strike over alleged irregularities in scrap metal pricing and weighing by iron and steel manufacturing companies.
The Deputy National President of the association, Aminu Hassan Soja, disclosed this at a news conference in Kano.
Soja said the strike, which began on October 1, was aimed at drawing attention to the grievances of scrap dealers against iron smelting companies across the country.
He said the association had directed its members nationwide to suspend the supply of scrap metals to the companies throughout the 15-day warning strike.
According to him, the major grievances include alleged arbitrary reduction in the prices of scrap metals after delivery, discrepancies in weighing procedures and other practices that he said were causing significant financial losses to dealers.
He alleged that some companies routinely reduced the agreed prices of scrap metals after delivery, leaving dealers to bear substantial losses.
“They depreciate our price on a daily basis, causing a lot of losses to our customers. In one truck, we lose about three to four million naira daily,” he said.
Soja attributed some of the developments to changes in the international market and geopolitical tensions, which he said had affected demand and created excess stocks in some markets.
He, however, questioned why such developments should lead to losses for local scrap dealers without corresponding reductions in the prices of finished steel products.
The association also expressed concern over alleged discrepancies in the weighing of scrap metals supplied to manufacturing companies.
Soja claimed that some dealers who delivered 1,000 kilogrammes of scrap metals were sometimes paid for significantly lower quantities after weighing at the companies’ facilities.
“When we sell 1,000kg to them, that is 1,000kg that makes one ton. When you scale it, you find out that the kilogramme on the weight is 600kg or 700kg. The highest you can get is 750kg,” he alleged.
He further raised concerns over the quality and specifications of reinforcement bars produced by some steel manufacturers, alleging that certain products marketed under specified measurements might not meet the stated dimensions.
He warned that such alleged practices could have implications for the construction industry, particularly in the use of reinforcement materials.
The association’s deputy president appealed to the Federal Government to intervene in the dispute, saying the alleged practices were threatening the livelihoods of thousands of scrap dealers and other workers in the sector.
“These companies are sending a lot of youths out of jobs. Apart from agriculture, I can say we are among the highest employers of labour. We have millions of youths in the scrap industry,” he said.
He expressed hope that government intervention would address the concerns of the dealers and promote fair business practices between scrap suppliers and steel manufacturers.
Editing By Godwin Duru
