Workers Accuse Golden Guinea Breweries Management of Insensitivity to Their Plight, Urge Abia Government to Reacquire Company
Workers Accuse Golden Guinea Breweries Management of Insensitivity to Their Plight, Urge Abia Government to Reacquire Company
By Ogbonnaya Ikokwu, Umuahia
Some workers of Golden Guinea Breweries PLC, Umuahia, have accused the management of the company of insensitivity to their plight following the boiler explosion that occurred on the company’s premises on February 17, 2003.
The workers, under the umbrella of the National Union of Food, Beverage & Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE), Golden Guinea Umuahia chapter, made the allegation in a statement jointly signed by the chairman, Samuel Amanze, and secretary, Chief Standhope Nworgu. They lamented that both the management of GGB and the private investor that acquired the company, Pan Marine Investment Limited, have refused to settle the outstanding entitlements of old workers since the incident occurred.
According to the workers, their appointments were not officially terminated following the explosion, and as such, they remain entitled to welfare benefits, terminal benefits, severance allowances, and other entitlements.
The group further accused the management, Pan Marine Investment Limited, and its core investor, Chief Okey Nzenwa, of operating in secrecy. They claimed that workers were not consulted during the acquisition process and that Nzenwa has refused to provide a written copy of the agreement reached with the union.
The workers also revealed that those who resumed work after the private investor took over operations were not reinstated at their original grade levels. Additionally, they claimed that none of them has received the stipends supposedly paid by the private investor since January 2025.
The NUFBTE members called on Governor Alex Otti to revoke the purported sale or lease of the company and to reacquire it due to its economic potential and significance to the state.
Their statement read in part:“If Golden Guinea Breweries returns to full operations, many Abia indigenes and residents will gain employment. Based on our research, GGB is capable of creating 1,000 direct jobs and 20,000 indirect jobs, with immeasurable economic multiplier effects for the state.
“Crimes and criminality will reduce in Umuahia and its environs if GGB resumes full brewing and production operations. Small and medium-scale businesses such as restaurants, eateries, beer parlors, and retail stores will also thrive again.
“The host community, Isiama Afara, and Afaraukwu in general, are losing out due to the current state of Golden Guinea Breweries. In the past, they benefited from employment quotas, scholarship awards for their children, access to water and other infrastructure, and other public relations initiatives.
“We are ready to engage in open debate with the management on the causes of the boiler explosion at Golden Guinea Breweries PLC, Umuahia, as well as other managerial and financial mismanagement issues.
“Posterity will be kind and appreciative of any administration that restores Golden Guinea Breweries PLC to its former glory as the pride of Umuahia and Abia State.”
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr. Okoro Ogbonnaya, has urged NUFBTE members to remain steadfast in their fight for the payment of their entitlements, assuring them that the union stands with them until a positive resolution is achieved.