Groupe Fadoul Afrique: Management Denies Maltreating Workers

Wissam El Aridi, Delegate for Central Africa, says recent press statements by a staff member were completely false and misleading.

The management of Groupe Fadoul Afrique, the parent company to MITCAM and SACAM, which deal in vehicles, says its workers have always been treated with dignity. Wissam El Aridi, Groupe Fadoul Afrique Delegate for Central Africa, spoke to Cameroon Tribune in his office in Yaounde on November 18, 2016. He reacted sharply to recent comments in the press by an employee of MITCAM that workers are treated as if they were slaves. The said remarks were made at the beginning of November 2016 when the workers went on strike, protesting the late payment of salaries.

Wissam El Aridi explained that the group’s companies are undergoing restructuring due to a number of reasons such as competition from rivals, evolving norms and the need for more technical capacity. He recalled that MITCAM Yaounde suffered a fire incident some years back, with the buildings still being reconstructed. “In addition, the crisis in the automobile sector has made the Yaounde MITCAM branch non-productive. This means the company no longer generates income. This situation also affects SACAM with which it shares the same building as sister companies,” explained Aridi.

MITCAM however still carries out some repair work, he noted, but the SACAM Yaounde branch has for some years now not been operating normally. The two companies deal in vehicles. MITCAM is representative for Nissan and Eicher makes, while SACAM is representative for Mazda, Skoda, MAN trucks and Bosch vehicles. Because of the lack of activities, the two companies have had challenges paying workers on time. “This could serve as encouragement to staff to work harder,” Wissam suggested.

“At the end of October 2016, we received a memo from MITCAM Yaounde employees announcing their plan to go on strike on November 7, 2016. We immediately informed the Divisional Officer for Yaounde IV to help iron out the situation. Instead of going on strike as scheduled, the workers on Monday, October 31, 2016, blocked all entrances to the company, holding hostage three trucks that had come to supply cement. We cannot tolerate such acts. Strikes are allowed by law, but must be guided. In fact, the Divisional Officer for Yaound...