L’Oreal West Africa Director in racial abuse

The abusive and racial remarks by the Finance and Operations Director of L’Oreal West Africa Limited, a multi national organisation in Accra, Mr Nicholas Lombart, against Ghanaian employees of the company is triggering uneasy calm among employees resulting in forceful resignations.

Mr Lombart, a French national, who was appointed about 15 months ago to the largest cosmetics producing company in the world, is said to have created a hostile working environment with employees.

Some of the employees who pleaded anonymity said that Mr Lombart had embarked on a deliberate attempt to frustrate employees into resigning and that since August last year he had consistently shown disrespect towards employees.

“How can we be treated like slaves in our own country? This man has made life unbearable for us in this company,” the employees lamented..

They called on human rights organisations in the country particularly the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) to call to order such organisations where foreign expatriates had the latitude to abuse the human rights of Ghanaians in their own country.

Consequently, some of his victims who could not bear any further humiliation resigned and have initiated legal actions against the company to compel Mr Lombart to pay all compensation packages due them.

A former employee of the company who pleaded anonymity tended in his resignation following a constructive termination of employment, is seeking legal action against Mr Lombart and, has therefore, engaged the services of lawyers who issued a letter dated August 12, 2008, to the General Manager of the company, Mr Abdennasser Benabou.

It read in part that their client who was initially employed in 1999 as a Warehouse Supervisor and who rose through the ranks to attain his latest before his constructive termination of employment reported directly to Mr Lombart who had made it his total focus to make “our client’s continued employment a hell”.

“Indeed such is the enormity of the frustrations and ill-treatment brought upon our client by the Head of Finance and Operations, that our client finds himself having the unpleasant duty of working in an environment which is so hostile to the extent that our client cannot be expected by any level headed or reasonable person to continue working in such an atmosphere,” the letter stated.

It cited instances where in May 2008, their client was summoned by Mr Lombart over some forecast figures for order to be made and in that meeting the latter got so upset with the figures that he recommended the former to rather drive a forklift instead of his current job.

According to the letter on countless occasions the disrespect shown by Mr Lombart towards their client had been done in the presence of co-workers even though his conduct was reported to the Head of Legal and Administrative Manager of the company.

“He advised our client to leave the employment by the end if July 2008, since he cannot work with our client, and that he was bringing in somebody from France who had the same qualification as his,” it said.

On one occasion Mr Lombart described their client as a “waste” saying that he would have wanted him out of his office and even if possible thrown out by security.

A medical report indicated that the client in question suffered stress induced hypertension as a result of his ordeal.

Another letter to the management of the company from the lawyers of another victim revealed that Mr Lombart uttered insulting words in French such as “merde” and “putain” meaning “shit” and “fuck” or “prostitute” on an employee who is currently engaged in a legal battle with him.

The letter described as unfortunate his penchant for treating people with consistent disrespect adding that “for an individual who works with an international organisation, we expect a certain degree of decorum and respect for people of other races and cultures on his part.”

When the General Manger, Mr Abdennasser Benabou, and the Human Resource and Legal Manager of the company, Ms Patience Aduakwa, were contacted for their reactions to the allegations against Mr Lombart, they both maintained that the matter had come to the attention of the Group at its headquarters in Paris and is currently under investigations “at the highest level”.

Mr Benabou said the ethics of the company frowned on all manner of discrimination and disrespect for diversity noting that if the allegations were confirmed the Ethical Manager of the Group in Paris would take disciplinary action against Mr Lombart.