I work from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Sunday under the blazing sun. We repeatedly asked the bosses to provide work clothes because we see that labourers at other Chinese construction sites are better-equipped. Apart from gloves and a vest that they won’t replace when damaged, they never gave us boots or shirts, not even helmets to protect us from the sun.

 

 

 

Our work is very hard, but we are underpaid: 2 dollars a day [Editors’ Note: The minimum wage in DR Congo was fixed at 3 dollars per day in 2008], which we get at the end of the month. There are often people checking on the worksite – employees from the World Bank, for example – and the Chinese tell them that we are paid five dollars a day. It’s not worth protesting over, though, because if we do, we’ll lose our jobs.

I arrived at the company in 2001 and my salary went from 18,000 CFA to 35,000 CFA [27 euros to 53 euros] in 11 years thanks to a new law [In 2011, authorities set the minimum salary at 35,000 CFA, or 53 euros]. But despite my experience, I earn the same amount as the new recruits, which I find very unfair. As there are no jobs in Lomé, I don’t have any other choice but to stay. I work 10 hours a day at the shop. I prepare packages for orders from overseas clients. I work in better conditions than other workers in the company who make the strands. They have to use very noisy machines, and are paid per piece rather than a fixed salary. The bosses know that’s more profitable! They also know that people are forced to accept low wages in order to earn a living.

The firm is not adhering to certain sections of the labour laws. After I was hired in 2007, they renewed my short-term contract a second time, which is illegal in Senegal. We protested along with other employees and finally were able to sign long-term contracts. The employers don’t pay social charges for employees, so we don’t contribute to our retirement pay and we don’t have health insurance.

 

Above all, we have communication problems with our Chinese superiors. They shout when they ask for things and behave like they own us. They openly give random cash bonuses to certain employees, which makes other employees angry. I think it’s their strategy: they rule by creating division. But despite the fact that - considering my level of studies - I earn less here than I would at a Senegalese company, I’d prefer to continue working with the Chinese because they have a strong work ethic, and you get to learn a lot more than you would at a national company.

I needed money to pay for school so I stopped my studies for six months to work as a labourer for a Chinese-owned company. The pace of work at the site was very fast. We worked from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. with an hour’s break for lunch. In Cameroon, labourers generally start work early but finish at 3 p.m. We were paid 36,000 CFA a month [about 55 euros. The minimum salary is CFA 23,500, or 36 euros]. There were often tensions about this because many of the workers protested and demanded 50,000 CFA [76 euros]. They provided us with a helmet, boots and gloves. The tasks were very difficult, but if we had an accident, the bosses allowed us to go home and rest.