Steel Rolling Mills lays off 2,500 workers
What you need to know:
Management says the breakdown of production machines at the factory has caused the staff crisis.
Jinja.
Some 2,500 workers of Steel Rolling Mills have been laid off in the last two years, a senior manager at the manufacturing plant has said.
During a press conference in Masese, Jinja District, the factory’s general manager, Mr Ismail Nasifu, said since February 2014 when the production machine broke down, the factory’s operation has been irregular, leaving the management with no choice but to lay off some of workers.
“From January to date, 1,500 workers have been terminated. Before that, we laid off 1,000 employees,” Mr Nasifu said.
“More 200 including administrators are likely to be sacked because the machine is now completely down. This is worrying, yet our choices are limited. Without the having the machine up and running, we cannot do much,” he added.
Steel Rolling Mills was among the list of about 60 companies and individuals seeking a financial bailout totalling to Shs1.3 trillion from the government.
The company is also battling to pay off a Shs50 billion loan it acquired from Standard Chartered Bank in 2014, which it used to replenish its machines. Consequently, the firm was placed under receivership to allow the bank recover its loans.
The properties that are on the verge of being sold off include LVR 1618 folio 17 plot Bidco Road, Masese Jinja, LRV 33897 Folio 6 plot 92A Fifth Street, Industrial Area Kampala, Block 449 plots 3 to Busiro County.
Mr Nasifu appealed for government intervention so that the factory can revive its glory and contribute immensely to the national coffers as it used to do before.
Plea
“We would want to see government intervention before we close shop altogether,” Mr Nasifu said.
The company was founded in 1987 and is a member of Alam Group.
Mr Abid Alam, the chairman of Alam Group of Companies, told journalists that the company was not asking for free money but a change in government policies that have distressed several companies across the country.
“We have been here for more than 31 years and our contribution to the economy is more than the help we are asking for,” he said.
Earlier, the Uganda Manufacturers Association said the economy risks slipping into recession if nothing is done to bailout the distressed companies.
