No fewer than 2,800 former textile workers and their family members have reportedly died while awaiting payment of N35 billion in unpaid gratuities and compensation owed by four collapsed textile companies in Kaduna State.
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The affected workers, under the aegis of the Coalition of Closed Unpaid Textile Workers of Nigeria, Kaduna State chapter, appealed to President Bola Tinubu, state governors and other well-meaning Nigerians to intervene in their prolonged struggle for payment of the outstanding entitlements.
In a statement by the coalition's President/Chairman, Jeibe Wordam, and Secretary, Samuel Ibrahim, the former workers said they had suffered decades of hardship following the collapse of Kaduna Textiles Limited, Arewa Textiles Plc, Nortex and Fine Tex Limited.
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According to the coalition, the companies shut down between 2002 and 2004 without paying workers their terminal benefits, leaving more than 9,000 employees jobless and financially stranded.
The workers disclosed that Kaduna Textiles Limited ceased operations in 2002, while Nortex and Fine Tex shut down in 2003. Arewa Textiles Plc, they added, closed in December 2004.
They lamented that despite years of appeals, protests and engagements with relevant authorities, the managements of the affected companies had failed to demonstrate genuine commitment toward settling the outstanding gratuities and compensation.
The coalition further decried the worsening living conditions of many former workers, noting that several had become impoverished and hopeless, while widows and children of deceased workers were facing severe hardship, including inability to afford healthcare and education.
According to the group, the rising cost of living has compounded their suffering, stressing that many of the affected workers, now above 60 years old, can no longer secure employment or establish small businesses due to lack of capital.
The former workers recalled that they had earlier petitioned the House of Representatives during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari and were invited to Abuja for a hearing before the tenure of the Ninth National Assembly ended without resolving the matter.
They appealed to President Tinubu, the leadership of the 10th National Assembly, the Nigeria Governors' Forum, Northern Governors' Forum, civil society organisations, traditional rulers and international sympathisers to assist in facilitating payment of the N35 billion they claimed is owed to them.
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