Lacasera MD, Ramchandani Sushil, fired
....Over expatriate quota abuse, labour law violations as NLC threatens showdown
By Our Reporters
ExclusiveReporters has uncovered a culture of expatriate quota abuse, willful violations of Nigerian Local Content Act, 2010, serious breaches of labour laws and local workers' rights at Jotna Nig. Ltd (JNL), the manufacturers of Lacasera, a popular beverage drink.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Indian firm, Mr. Ramchandani
Sushil,
has since been demoted a forth night ago after ExclusiveReporters
commenced investigations on the activities of the company following
workers' outcry.
Consequently,
organized labour threatened to shut down the firm if the management
fails to take steps to unionise the workers with immediate effect.
Jolted by our enquiries, promoters of the Indian firm decided on a soft landing for Sushil who bluntly refused to comment on the allegations.However, Public Relations managers of the firm, BD Consults Limted, confired demotion of the Sushil.
"It is true Sushil has been demoted, but it has not been made official. I cannot confirm to you yet who the next MD is. I can only tell you that there is a new MD to take over from Sushil," said BD Consult chairman, Tola Bademosi.
Jolted by our enquiries, promoters of the Indian firm decided on a soft landing for Sushil who bluntly refused to comment on the allegations.However, Public Relations managers of the firm, BD Consults Limted, confired demotion of the Sushil.
"It is true Sushil has been demoted, but it has not been made official. I cannot confirm to you yet who the next MD is. I can only tell you that there is a new MD to take over from Sushil," said BD Consult chairman, Tola Bademosi.
Fortunes
of the company have been on a steady decline since the embattled Jotna boss arrived
and introduced unwholesome and dehumanizing labour relations that constatntly pitched
workers against management.
Declining
fortunes of the company took a turn for the worst after one of the key workers
(an Indian) humiliated out of the company replicated the flagship brand for his
new employers, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Plc, setting the stage for keen competition that has now taken huge
percentage of the Lacasera market share.
With its wide network of customers, NBC has been able to grab the Lacasera market to its new Fanta Apple brand, leaving Jotna struggling for survival with the result that management turned the heat over to workers.
Jotna, expatriate quota abuse, employment racketeering
Our investigations uncovered a well organised employment racketeering ring operated by the company in absolute disregard for expatriate quota laws, Nigerian Local Content Act, coupled with entrenched culture of tax evasion by its tens of subsidiaries.
Our findings show that Indians occupy all positions of responsibility, from MD/CEO to personal assistant to key officers. Even young school leavers are brought into the country straight from the fore-walls of their schools to come and work in the company, if only to ensure that Nigerians are kept at arms length.
With its wide network of customers, NBC has been able to grab the Lacasera market to its new Fanta Apple brand, leaving Jotna struggling for survival with the result that management turned the heat over to workers.
Jotna, expatriate quota abuse, employment racketeering
Our investigations uncovered a well organised employment racketeering ring operated by the company in absolute disregard for expatriate quota laws, Nigerian Local Content Act, coupled with entrenched culture of tax evasion by its tens of subsidiaries.
Our findings show that Indians occupy all positions of responsibility, from MD/CEO to personal assistant to key officers. Even young school leavers are brought into the country straight from the fore-walls of their schools to come and work in the company, if only to ensure that Nigerians are kept at arms length.
Documents available to ExclusiveReporters reveal the company has been massively bringing in Indians to work as personal
assistants, accountants, business development executives, tax manager,
human resource managers, insurance manager, auditors, sales managers, and a host of other positions even where local competences are in abundant supply.
Jotna management adopts a strategy of creating high-sounding official positions to secure and justify granting of expatriate quota to Indian nationals ferried into the country including fresh graduates.
Jotna management adopts a strategy of creating high-sounding official positions to secure and justify granting of expatriate quota to Indian nationals ferried into the country including fresh graduates.
Sadhu
Sahoo Charan, for instance, was hired as Performance Manager on June 27, 2012 but he ended up working
as Human Resource Manager, a work capacity which is in abundant supply in the
country. His residence permit (AO248585) expired on June 26, 2015.
Ramchandani Rajesh (with residence permit AO223158) was granted entry visa on expatriate quota as Head, System Support Manager, but ended up as IT Head, a work capacity that is also in abundant supply in the country. His expatriate quota was renewed on January 24, 2014, (via application letter MIA/B27014/11/201) to expire on January 23, 2016.
The expatriate quota approval for Taxation Manager (Subudhi Susanta Kumar), Management Accounts Manager (Mangesh Manikpure), and many others whose details are also available to us show serial abuse of expatriate quota, and the Nigerian Local Content Act 2010.
In some cases, expatriate quota approvals were given in anticipation of positions and offices that never existed, implying calculated complicity with immigration officials. The company has been running foul of these laws in active connivance with some Nigeria Immigration Service officials in Lagos whose names are withheld by us.
Oppressive labour policies against local workers
While Indians occupy offices of responsibilities, their Nigerian counterparts who are constantly subjected to inhuman treatment are consigned to low profile positions and are constantly harassed by a certain Yatendra Jain who was ferried into the country less than a year ago.
While the Asians enjoy the best of work conditions, Nigerians are subjected to oppressive labour policies, most of whom eventually got sacked under questionable circumstances. Termination of the appointments of local workers is a constant occurence.
Among some of the workers sacked in recent time were one Mr. Monday Okorafor who was coerced to sign his sack letter, and the personal driver attached to Yatendra Jain, the human resource manager.
The driver attached to Jain was said to have been sacked after he returned from the Muritala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, to pick his Indian boss.
On that fateful Sunday, the driver had dropped his boss and returned back home. But his Indian boss, Jain, called him to return and take his wife to market, but he was said to have disobeyed the directive to return.
When he got to office the following day, he was sacked without pay, a development that infuriated other drivers who were already nurturing animosity for sudden withdrawal of their allowances by the same Jain.
Like the driver, Okafor was said to have been constantly harassed by Jain before finally sacking for no justifiable reason. To make sure they got rid of him in the company, management offered to pay him the sum of N500, 000 in lieu.
However, the management gave him N300, 000 and asked him to collect the balance a day after. But Okafor was never given the balance of N200, 000 even after he had been made to sign his sack letter.
Ramchandani Rajesh (with residence permit AO223158) was granted entry visa on expatriate quota as Head, System Support Manager, but ended up as IT Head, a work capacity that is also in abundant supply in the country. His expatriate quota was renewed on January 24, 2014, (via application letter MIA/B27014/11/201) to expire on January 23, 2016.
The expatriate quota approval for Taxation Manager (Subudhi Susanta Kumar), Management Accounts Manager (Mangesh Manikpure), and many others whose details are also available to us show serial abuse of expatriate quota, and the Nigerian Local Content Act 2010.
In some cases, expatriate quota approvals were given in anticipation of positions and offices that never existed, implying calculated complicity with immigration officials. The company has been running foul of these laws in active connivance with some Nigeria Immigration Service officials in Lagos whose names are withheld by us.
Oppressive labour policies against local workers
While Indians occupy offices of responsibilities, their Nigerian counterparts who are constantly subjected to inhuman treatment are consigned to low profile positions and are constantly harassed by a certain Yatendra Jain who was ferried into the country less than a year ago.
While the Asians enjoy the best of work conditions, Nigerians are subjected to oppressive labour policies, most of whom eventually got sacked under questionable circumstances. Termination of the appointments of local workers is a constant occurence.
Among some of the workers sacked in recent time were one Mr. Monday Okorafor who was coerced to sign his sack letter, and the personal driver attached to Yatendra Jain, the human resource manager.
The driver attached to Jain was said to have been sacked after he returned from the Muritala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, to pick his Indian boss.
On that fateful Sunday, the driver had dropped his boss and returned back home. But his Indian boss, Jain, called him to return and take his wife to market, but he was said to have disobeyed the directive to return.
When he got to office the following day, he was sacked without pay, a development that infuriated other drivers who were already nurturing animosity for sudden withdrawal of their allowances by the same Jain.
Like the driver, Okafor was said to have been constantly harassed by Jain before finally sacking for no justifiable reason. To make sure they got rid of him in the company, management offered to pay him the sum of N500, 000 in lieu.
However, the management gave him N300, 000 and asked him to collect the balance a day after. But Okafor was never given the balance of N200, 000 even after he had been made to sign his sack letter.
Workers' petitions made available to us, painted
graphic details of other oppressive labour policies against Nigerians, and
urged the authorities to investigate the operations of the subsidiary
companies, none of which the petitioners alleged has any offices.
The petitioners who did not put down their names for fear of a sack alleged that their Indian counterparts enjoy the luxury of traveling back to India at will to attend to domestic issues and repatriate huge sums of money from Nigeria. But Nigerians are denied their annual leave without payment of any allowances in lieu.
Jotna, numerous subsidiaries and shady deals
The petitioners who did not put down their names for fear of a sack alleged that their Indian counterparts enjoy the luxury of traveling back to India at will to attend to domestic issues and repatriate huge sums of money from Nigeria. But Nigerians are denied their annual leave without payment of any allowances in lieu.
Jotna, numerous subsidiaries and shady deals
The
parent company (JNL) was discovered to have registered over ten different subsidiaries
including Kogi United Ltd, Victory Nigeria Ltd, LMH Ltd, PCL Ltd, TLCL Ltd,
CBTI Ltd which are implicated in questionable, shady businesses. All the
companies have constantly evaded tax payment to government.
The parent company (JNL) has over ten different subsidiaries including Kogi United Ltd, Victory Nigeria Ltd, LMH Ltd, PCL Ltd, TLCL Ltd, CBTI Ltd and a host of others through which the company carries out shady businesses.
It was alleged that the subsidiary companies constantly evaded tax payment to government as they hide under the umbrella of the parent company to do genuine businesses but stand alone in carrying out shady businesses.
To demonstrate total disdain for constituted authorities, the company is said to empty human waste drainage pipes into public mains drainage system without any form of treatment, posing health and environmental risks to the general public in violation of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Edict under the LASEPA.
It was gathered that the company claimed to have the authority of LASEPA to channel human waste pipes to the gutters.
Efforts to get the manufacturers of Lacasera react to the weighty allegations proved abortive as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Ramchandani Sushil, shunned all efforts to get him react several weeks after he was repeatedly contacted to comment.
When the issues the board of directors learnt that dirty issues about the company were leaked to the press, they quickly announced removal of the leadership of the management as a punitive measure and ploy to cover up the issues.
Efforts to get the NIS to react to the allegations of aiding the Indians to violate expatriate quota laws also failed as the public relations officer, Mr. Obuah, failed to pick calls or respond to text message sent over a month ago.
The parent company (JNL) has over ten different subsidiaries including Kogi United Ltd, Victory Nigeria Ltd, LMH Ltd, PCL Ltd, TLCL Ltd, CBTI Ltd and a host of others through which the company carries out shady businesses.
It was alleged that the subsidiary companies constantly evaded tax payment to government as they hide under the umbrella of the parent company to do genuine businesses but stand alone in carrying out shady businesses.
To demonstrate total disdain for constituted authorities, the company is said to empty human waste drainage pipes into public mains drainage system without any form of treatment, posing health and environmental risks to the general public in violation of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Edict under the LASEPA.
It was gathered that the company claimed to have the authority of LASEPA to channel human waste pipes to the gutters.
Efforts to get the manufacturers of Lacasera react to the weighty allegations proved abortive as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Ramchandani Sushil, shunned all efforts to get him react several weeks after he was repeatedly contacted to comment.
When the issues the board of directors learnt that dirty issues about the company were leaked to the press, they quickly announced removal of the leadership of the management as a punitive measure and ploy to cover up the issues.
Efforts to get the NIS to react to the allegations of aiding the Indians to violate expatriate quota laws also failed as the public relations officer, Mr. Obuah, failed to pick calls or respond to text message sent over a month ago.
