The Salala Rubber Corporation (SRC) has begun demolishing aging mud housing units to make way for durable two-bedroom concrete homes for its workforce.
The initiative, according to Jeety Rubber, the new owner of SRC, is part of a broader commitment to workers to construct and renovate more than 500 homes within 24 months to improve living conditions.
The project comes as Jeety Rubber has made it a priority to address the Earthworm Foundation report, which documented a myriad of unresolved social challenges, including poor living conditions under Socfin, a Luxembourg multinational group that owned and operated SRC for more than a decade until August 2024.
“As a company, our goal is to address whatever structural issues the Earthworm report identified during the time of Socfin through a phased and systematic approach,” said business tycoon Upjit Singh Sachdeva, CEO of Jeety Conglomerate. “Today, the demolition exercise is in that direction. We are going to replace these mud houses that have been here for ages with durable two-bedroom concrete homes that are spacious enough.”
Housing at SRC has been the main source of workers’ long-standing grievances against the company. In June 2024, amid heightened tensions, a violent protest broke out, resulting in the burning and ransacking of company properties, forcing Socfin to eventually shut down operations and divest.
In the purchase agreement, Jeety Rubber committed to addressing years of unresolved social and infrastructural problems left behind by Socfin, including poor housing units and social services. As part of this commitment, the company has moved several hundred workers from Camp 1 and Camp 2 to 121 newly built and renovated housing units. Some of the relocated workers had been living in the dilapidated mud houses. The renovated and newly built two-bedroom concrete units are designed with durability and weather resistance in mind, with each home providing a more secure and comfortable living space.
“The most important asset we have as a company is our workers, so their well-being, especially where they live, has always been our priority,” Sachdeva said. “We remain committed to ensuring that all workers in the nine camps have access to durable housing units in the 24-month time frame we have promised and we are working hard to get there without any excuse when the period we have set comes.”
Jeety Rubber’s vision for SRC has seen the company announced and undertaken a series of projects aimed at improving the overall quality of life for workers. These include the donation of a top-tier ambulance, completed renovations of the SRC school system and health center which were among the many poorly run facilities inherited and announcement of $10,000 for scholarships.
The clinic can now boast of qualified doctors and staff, and well-furnished labs while the various schools, including the high school, have access to 24/7 electricity, running water and an upgraded science lab, creating a conducive learning environment that led to the remarkable achievement of all 12th graders passing the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination, a feat never before achieved in the company’s history.
Other pending projects include cost-free Starlink internet service, electricity and borehole water systems. These projects are part of a broader plan by Jeety Rubber’s to modernize social services across all nine worker camps. The Starlink service will provide high-speed internet access to workers and their families, while the electricity will improve living conditions and enable access to modern amenities previously unavailable in the camps, and the borehole water system will ensure all camps have access to clean and safe-drinking water.
“We inherited a company that left behind years of unresolved social and infrastructural problems, and so our main goal is to solve these problems,” Sachdeva said. “While we aim for profitability, we at the same time work to improve social services for workers, and that includes improving their living conditions.”
Meanwhile, SRC workers are commending the company for its commitment to solving legacy issues that existed under the previous regime, though they hope the problems can be resolved quickly. They note that the pace at which SRC’s new management is renovating and constructing new homes gives hope for better days ahead, reflecting their belief that employee well-being is a priority.
However, workers hope the housing projects and all other pending initiatives can be fast-tracked so that every worker can have a home with better access to social services.
“For years, we lived in fear of the rainy season, worrying about the roof collapsing. Now, we have a safe and comfortable place to live, but it is our hope that these projects can be fast-tracked. A lot of workers are in need of housing,” the workers said. “Still, what we are seeing from the new SRC management is a genuine commitment to solving all the legacy issues that existed under the previous management. We applaud them for the work being done as we look forward to seeing all the legacy issues solved.”
