Foreign citizens hired to work on the Coral Sul Area 4 gas project, developed by Italy's ENI Rovuma Basin, earn salaries between eight and 20 times higher than Mozambicans in the same company, with equivalent technical qualifications and doing the same job. There are around 200 Mozambicans working on the platform.

The report was published today by the newspaper EvidenceThe article describes an atmosphere of discontent among Mozambican workers on the natural gas exploration platform. They say they are the targets of unequal and discriminatory treatment.

Eni Rovuma Basin confirmed to the newspaper that it has delegated the hiring of local labor to Mozambican companies, with some agreements for an uncertain term, but declined to comment on wage disparities, citing confidentiality.

According to our source, the recurrence of the multinational Eni Rovuma Basin in outsourcing the hiring of workers is to absolve itself of its responsibilities towards the contractors, avoiding any legal relationship.

A contract seen by the newspaper reflects the facts, and it emerged that one of the Mozambican companies that awards precarious contracts to Mozambicans is Heading Moz. It lists Eni Rovuma Basin as its client.

Eni Rovuma Basin has already drained the Mozambican state of around one hundred million dollars and the figure is expected to rise next year.

"Despite the outsourcing of contracts, national workers are linked to Eni through contracts with an uncertain term, which allows the company to dismiss workers at any time without the right to any compensation, let alone any social and economic benefit," it reads.

Quoting Mozambican workers, the newspaper reports that the current director of Eni Rovuma Basin, Giorgio Vicini, does not intend to recruit local labor directly, unless the Mozambican government imposes it.

The workers say there have been unfair dismissals. Their contracts have no employment, social or banking guarantees.

Because of unfair dismissals, Eni Rovuma Basin has already lost court cases and been ordered to pay fines. Strategically, the multinational has changed its recruiter, previously Aldeia, to Heading Moz. You can read more in Tuesday's edition of the newspaper we quote.