(Recasts with Nigerian comment, previous BEIJING)

By Ani Akpan

CALABAR, Nigeria, May 9 (Reuters) - A Nigerian driver abducted three Chinese workers from a construction firm in the remote southeastern state of Cross River following a dispute over wages and welfare, government officials said on Friday.

The driver and three Chinese men, all employees of the China Civil Engineering Construction Corp (CCECC), were returning from a site near the state capital Calabar to the firm's residential compound on Thursday when the Nigerian diverted the car to an unknown destination, a government spokesman said.

The abduction is not related to the kidnappings for ransom that are common in the oil-producing Niger Delta where militants have launched a campaign of violence to press for local control of the region's natural resources.

"The incident is not a kidnapping but an abduction ... The government is organising a serious search party for the missing Chinese men and the Nigeria driver," Cross River state spokesman Patrick Ugbe told reporters after a meeting of security chiefs in the port city of Calabar.

The driver is believed to have abducted the Chinese workers, including the company's finance manager, in collaboration with other Nigerian employees of CCECC. The car was abandoned at one of the company's sites in neighbouring Akwa Ibom state.

Ugbe said Nigerian staff of CCEC had given a protest letter to Governor Liyel Imoke on Tuesday when he visited a site where the company is building a bridge, complaining about poor wages and welfare.

"It is suspected that their (the workers') action may not be unconnected with those grievances," Ugbe said.

There are widespread complaints in Africa's top oil producer that Asian companies pay low salaries and treat local workers like slaves. The firms deny the charges.

The Chinese embassy in Nigeria said it was working with the Nigerian authorities to secure the release of the trio.

Chinese workers have previously been kidnapped in Nigeria. At least two Chinese men were kidnapped by ransom-seekers last July in the southeastern state of Anambra. They were freed unharmed after money changed hands.

Beijing said last year it would strengthen protection of its workers abroad after a series of clashes and killings highlighted the risks accompanying its international economic expansion.

China needs resources in Africa to feed its economic boom. Chinese enterprises have invested billion of dollars in Africa, and are engaged across sectors, not just in energy and mining, but also in construction, infrastructure and textiles. (Additional reporting by Emma Graham-Harrison; writing by Tume Ahemba; editing by Ken Wills and Valerie Lee)

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