Nigeria’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) has requested that a minimum wage be established for the country’s oil and gas industry.
According to Nigerian Tribune, the union justified the demand by citing the “unprecedented hardship” experienced by workers in the sector as a result of the federal government’s recent policy direction under President Bola Tinubu’s leadership.
The National President of the union, Comrade Festus Osifo, stated at the second PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Summit that the current situation in the sector only benefits the government and oil and gas companies in Nigeria.
Comrade Osifo emphasised the importance of finding a conscious and creative way to restore workers’ financial losses while preventing oil companies from gaining an unfair advantage.
He gave the example of Angola, where the government sets salaries for its employees in dollars and pays them the legal tender equivalent in order to demonstrate that PENGASSAN is congruent with the instrument of trade of the oil and gas commodity.
The removal of the subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and the floating of the naira-dollar exchange rate, Osifo said, “have placed untold hardship on Nigerians.” The overall effect this will have on Nigerians is difficult to fathom.
Part of the floatation decisions have only benefited the Nigerian government and oil and gas companies. As a result, there has been a call for an industry-wide salary standard that is in step with the currency used to transact in oil and gas.
The Angolan model, where salaries are set in dollars and then converted to the local currency, shows that it is possible to protect workers’ rights even when the value of their currency fluctuates.
“The challenges faced by our members have been exacerbated by the floating of the naira in the official market. To guarantee a level playing field in which everyone can thrive, we must investigate creative ways to prevent companies from unfairly profiting at the expense of employees. PENGASSAN will exert every effort to ensure that its affiliates receive a fair share of the benefits.
The topic of this year’s summit is “Petroleum Downstream Deregulation and Gas Utilisation for a Sustainable Energy Future in Nigeria.” The President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Comrade Osifo, explained that the theme was selected with great care because of the sector’s many challenges and opportunities.
According to the organisers, “this theme was carefully selected given the multifaceted challenges and opportunities inherent in our sector viz. viz. the global energy demand to illuminate the path towards a sustainable energy future for Nigeria and by extension Nigerians.”
The conference’s description reads as follows: “We will engage in enlightening discussions, share insights, and formulate strategies to address critical issues such as divestment, PMS subsidy removal, and the place/role of the ever ready Nigeria workers in the oil and gas industry and it commitment value chain.”
“The divestment action of companies like Mobile producing Nigeria, Nigeria Agip Company SPDC, and others has marked a significant shift in our landscape of the energy in the country.”
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