If their plans go as planned, the Petroleum and Natural
Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) will embark on a
three-day warning strike in protest against the delay in the passage of
the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and other anti-labour activities of
employers in the oil and gas sector. Thisday reports.
Oil workers working in an oil facility
According to Business Day, the oil workers are protesting among other things:
1. Retardation of staff promotion in the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF)
2. non-standardisation of nomenclature and collective bargaining
agreement of the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NNRA) in line with
what obtains in other agencies in the oil and gas industry
3. Alleged refusal of the management of Addax/Petrostuff Nigeria Limited and Chevron/Sudelletra to recall sacked staff
4. Alleged Petrobras management unprocedural release of staff and its refusal to renew expired collective agreement
5. Unjust termination of appointment of the Port Harcourt zonal secretary and treasurer of PENGASSAN and NUPENG, respectively
7. Un-abating measures of addressing pipeline vandalism and crude oil
theft, and divestment by international oil companies (IOCs) without
clear guidelines to check the resultant arbitrary job losses,
heightening insecurity of their members/families in the troubled parts
of Northern Nigeria.
According to Punch, The association noted that the 14-day ultimatum
given by its National Executive Council meeting of October 30, 2014 to
the Federal Government and other concerned employers’ and agencies and
further ratified by the Joint NEC of both NUPENG and PENGASSAN on
October 31, 2014, had since expired without any meaningful resolution or
commitment from either the government or the concerned employers’ and
agencies at resolving the issues.
A statement issued by PENGASSAN national secretariat on Sunday read, “Plans
are at the final stage with its sister union, Nigerian Union of
Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), to mobilise members for a
nationwide industrial action that will disrupt operations in the oil and
gas sector until the Federal Government shows genuine intention to
earnestly attend and resolve the enumerated issues at stake.”
Checks by our reporter around Ikeja, capital of Nigeria’s commercial
hub, Lagos ,indicates that petrol stations are short of fuel as long
queues have been spotted in the area and even beyond.
A twitter user @Mijiafe also gives a first-hand information on the
situation in Oba-Akran, a busy commercial road in Ikeja today.
It will be recalled that earlier in the year, the
oil and gas sector workers suspended their planned strike after the
Federal Government decided not to sell the ailing refineries as was earlier planned.