Dangote dismisses fear of job losses on account of cement standardisation

Dangote Cement Plc, at the weekend, dismissed as unfounded the claim that the recent review and grading of cement quality would lead to loos of job, saying on the contrary, it would open opportunities for more jobs.
The clarification came just as the Ibese plant of the company strengthened its relationship with the host communities in Yewaland, Ogun State, when its disbursed scholarship awards worth millions of naira to deserving students from the communities in higher institutions and secondary schools.
The leading cement manufacturers explained that the quality review and the standardisation of cement by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) would lead to further creation of job as the classification gives room for engagement of more hands.

The Group Managing Director of Dangote Cement, Devakumar Edwin, made this clarification in Ibese during a scholarship award to students of higher institutions and secondary schools from the host communities of the cement company.
Edwin’s position came in the wake of protests and complaints by some other cement manufacturers and their employees who feared that switching over to the high quality cement grade would affect their profit and therefore inciting the members of the public to reject the new quality review on the pretext that it would lead to  loss job.
The Dangote Cement boss, who spoke in Lagos when a group of businessmen paid him a visit in his office at the weekend, said: “Gentlemen, let me tell you, the new cement quality review and trading would only create more jobs, guarantees confidence as the exercise properly positions the different types of cement we have and their uses. When you produce a quality product, you would need more hands than when you are churning out low quality and substandard that requires little or no effort.
“Let no one deceive you, all over the world, only quality cement is acceptable, Nigeria is no longer a dumping ground. SON has graded cement, all your building works should be done with 42.5 grade, 32.5 according to SON is meant for plastering only while 52.5 is for specialised construction like bridges, high rise building among others.”
The award ceremony, saw the jubilant students and their parents singing praises of Dangote Cement for the unprecedented gesture.
The award, which is a big boost to the corporate social service profile of the cement manufacturers, came with a promise by the group managing director of the company, that the company would continue to partner the communities on areas of development by adding values to the indigenes lives especially in the area of intellectual content development.

Addressing the gathering, the Director of Operation, Jagat Rathee, who represented Edwin, said the scholarship award was just one of the many ways the company has been improving on the lives of the people of its host communities, pointing out that Dangote Cement was noted for adding values to the lives of the indigenes of the communities where it operates both within and outside the country.
He stated that one of the core values of Dangote Group as a whole was to improve the standard of living of the people through production of quality household products, provision of gainful employment and development of areas from where it operates.
Rathee noted that it was therefore not by accident that Dangote Cement decided to lift the host communities and people by providing amenities needed to make life easy for them and that the educational scholarship was to compliment the CSR activities by focusing on education of the children in the host communities as leaders of tomorrow.
The Deputy General Manager, External Relations, Joseph Alabi, while giving an overview of the scholarship explained that the award was the second and that the number of the beneficiaries had increased from that of last year school session.
He also announced that the company was planning massive job recruitment for could the host communities residents for its packaging company, Agro Sack, which is billed for completion very soon as the company would be responsible for the production of sacks for cement bagging.
“Tell your qualified sons and daughters to be ready, we are going employing them. This is where we are doing our business and this is where we will recruit the qualified hands,” he stated amid applause from the gathering.
One of the recipients of the award, Kola Adeleke of Federal University of Technology, Akure, commended Dangote Cement for the financial assistance, saying it would go a long way to encourage them to face their education as many had dropped out of school because of financial constraints.
He thanked Dangote Cement for the gesture and promised that the host communities would continue to work towards peace and tranquility that would give the conducive environment for production.
Also speaking, the Olu of Imasayi, leading monarch in the area, explained that the people are pleased with what Dangote Cement was doing and urged the management to continue in that direction.
He promised that he and other  royal fathers would ensure peace reigns in their domain so that business could go on unfettered.