IVORY COAST: MONEY NEEDS CONTINUES TO FORCE EMPLOYEES AT A SOAP FACTORY IN ABIDJAN TO WORK DESPITE THE RISKS TO THEIR HEALTH

Record ID: 183655

  • Title: IVORY COAST: MONEY NEEDS CONTINUES TO FORCE EMPLOYEES AT A SOAP FACTORY IN ABIDJAN TO WORK DESPITE THE RISKS TO THEIR HEALTH
  • Date: 30th October 2001
  • Summary: ATTENCOUBE, ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST (RECENT) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS OF ABOUBACAR TRAORE MAKING SOAP 2. (SOUNDBITE) (French) ABOUBACAR TRAORE "Here one must work in the smoke, the heat of the fire and with acid, if not you cannot earn money. Because we do not like stealing, we must suffer here to save our lives." 3. VARIOUS OF WORKERS MAKING SOAP 4. EXTERIOR TOWNHALL 5. GNIMIOULI SABAS AT HIS DESK 6. (SOUNDBITE) (French) GNIMIOULI SABAS, AATTECOUBE TOWN HALL "We ask them simply to have a pair of gloves, a mask, a pair of boots and to have regular medical checks." 7. WORKERS MAKING SOAP 8. VARIOUS OF SOAP MAKING PROCESS 9. (SOUNDBITE) (French) MARICO SALIF "It's dangerous. If the fire is too strong, or if the acid spills on you, it burns and also the fumes from the acid, enter the lungs." 10. WORKERS MAKING SOAP 11. (SOUNDBITE) (French) GNIMIOULI SABAS "Really, these are very precarious structures, because they are not small or medium-sized enterprises, they are not big factories. They just scrape by, and so we find it hard to place them in a specific category." 12. SOAP FACTORY/ PACKETS OF SOAP 13. (SOUNDBITE) (French) GNIMIOULI SABAS "Some agents, owners and people in charge give them those things, but they prefer to sell them or put them aside because they think they are too heavy and bother them, forgetting about their health." 14. WOMAN MAKING SOAP 15. WOMAN SELLING SOAP 16. (SOUNDBITE) (French) MICHEL GBATO "I know it's dangerous for your hands. You have to know how to use it because if you hold it for too long in your hands, it can hurt, and that's not good." 17. CHILDREN SITTING OUTSIDE HUT 18. (SOUNDBITE) (French) BRIGITTE ASSEMIEM "The odour is bad and it's hard to breathe. We fear for the children. Everyday the children have colds, and coughs. Even the grownups we have coughs and colds. Really it's difficult." 19. BRIGITTE ASSEMIEM WALKING INTO HER HOUSE 20. VARIOUS OF SOAP MAKING AND FINISHED SOAPS Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 14th November 2001 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: ATTENCOUBE, ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST
  • Country: Ivory Coast
  • Reuters ID: LVAC3U7E4EG28LTEB6PGWT1E723A
  • Story Text: The need to earn a living makes the workers in a
    soap factory in Abidjan on the Ivory Coast continue to do a
    job that is both difficult and dangerous for their health.

    Even basic safety regulations aren't met and the workers
    accept foul smells and toxic fumes as part of their work.

    Reuters reports.


    Aboubacar Traore has been making soap for 10
    years. He is 24 years old. He admits the work is both
    difficult and dangerous but says he has no choice:
    "Here one must work in the smoke, the heat of the fire
    and with acid, if not you cannot earn money. Because we do
    not like stealing, we must suffer here to save our lives."
    For the workers in these ramshackle soap factories in
    the Attecoube district in Abidjan, health concerns come a
    poor second to the need to earn a living.

    Here, they make a soap known as Kabakourou. The men and
    women work long hours, breathing toxic fumes from boiling
    oil and caustic soda mixes. Most accept the foul smells as
    an inevitable part of the job.

    Now local authorities are trying to raise awareness and
    force the owners of such small-scale factories to implement
    basic safety regulations.

    At the town hall of Attecoube, Gnimiouli Sabas outlines
    the minimum precautions the workers should be taking:
    "We ask them simply to have a pair of gloves, a mask, a
    pair of boots and to have regular medical checks."
    In this polluted ravine, even these basic requirements
    are not met.

    Many of the workers protect their hands with socks,
    plastic and elastic bands. Some work barechested. None wear
    masks to protect against the fumes
    To make the Kabakourou soaps, the workers use palm oil
    and highly corrosive caustic soda. First the oil is boiled
    over a wood fire. It is left to cool for 24 hours. Meanwhile
    the caustic soda powder is mixed with water and also left to
    cool.

    Then the two substances are mixed and the soap is
    moulded.

    It's not that the workers are unaware of the risks.

    Some, like Marico Salif, admit they feel ill at night:
    "It's dangerous. If the fire is too strong, or if
    the acid spills on you, it burns and also the fumes from the
    acid, enter the lungs."
    Sabas says that the workers, like this young
    mother, risk respiratory diseases, tubercolosis, liver and
    heart problems.

    He hopes that the authorities' new campaign to meet
    with individual factory owners and explain the dangers will
    help raise awareness, but he is aware of the challenges in
    making changes in such ad-hoc industries:
    "Really, these are very precarious structures,
    because they are not small or medium-sized enterprises, they
    are not big factories. They just scrape by, and so we find
    it hard to place them in a specific category."
    Another problem comes from the workers themselves.

    Sometimes they just don't use the gloves and other safety
    equipment they are given, as they struggle to work faster
    and increase their meagre wages.

    "Some agents, owners and people in charge give them
    those things, but they prefer to sell them or put them aside
    because they think they are too heavy and bother them,
    forgetting about their health," says Sabas.

    The soap is used for cleaning clothes and dishes and
    sells for around 100 CFA per unit.

    It is a favourite among poorer people because it
    cleans well and is cheap.

    But even those who buy it, like Michel Gbato, know
    that it has to be treated carefully.

    He says "I know it's dangerous for your hands. You
    have to know how to use it because if you hold it for too
    long in your hands, it can hurt, and that's not good."
    The hardy Kabakourou has also poisoned the lives of
    people living near the factories.

    Brigitte Assemiem says "The odour is bad and it's
    hard to breathe. We fear for the
    children. Everyday the children have colds, and coughs. Even
    the grownups we have coughs and colds. Really it's
    difficult."
    These people have already complained to the town
    hall, and their grievances are also driving the bid to clean
    up the Kabakourou industry.

    In the battle between health and wealth, money is
    likely to retain the upper hand in Attecoube's soap
    factories for now. The workers will continue to toil in the
    smoke and heat to earn, as they say their daily pittance.


    ENDS

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