The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria have asked President Bola Tinubu and other important people to help settle the fight between the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers and the Dangote Refinery.
But the Nigeria Labour Congress, which also called for quick action to end the standoff, said that the Dangote refinery was doing things that were bad for workers, according to Sunday PUNCH.
The disagreement
NUPENG stated on Friday that it would start industrial action on Monday, September 8.
The disagreement is around Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s intention to bring in 4,000 vehicles that run on compressed natural gas to provide fuel directly to stores.
The refinery indicated that the plan would start once a lot of the trucks arrived, even though it was supposed to start on August 15 but was delayed because of problems with logistics in China.
On Friday, NUPENG’s President, Williams Akporeha, and General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, signed a statement saying that the Dangote Refinery was doing things that were bad for workers and putting the jobs of its Petroleum and Tanker Drivers branch members at risk.
The union was upset that Aliko Dangote, the owner of the refinery, had said that new drivers for the imported trucks would not be able to join any union.
It called the ruling an attack on the right to free association protected by the 1999 Constitution and a violation of international labor agreements that Nigeria has signed.
NUPENG remembered that it had met with the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners multiple times to try to get Dangote to change his mind.
But it is said that its appeals were not heard.
Last Friday, things got worse when MRS, which is owned by Sayyu Aliu Dantata, Dangote’s cousin, reportedly started hiring drivers for the CNG vehicles and made them sign contracts saying they wouldn’t join any oil and gas unions.
The union said it couldn’t just watch while jobs were lost.
NUPENG announced that if the problem wasn’t fixed by Monday, September 8, its members will stop loading petroleum all around the country.
PETROAN and IPMAN want peace.
Billy Gillis-Harry, the National President of PETROAN, called the upcoming strike a “looming danger” and asked that it be stopped.
He stated, “PETROAN’s position is that we are asking the President, who is also the head of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, to step in and make sure the strike doesn’t happen as planned.”
Gillis-Harry remarked that one corporation shouldn’t control the whole value chain.
“We agree with NUPENG and PTD that they are right to be worried because you can’t just wake up and take away the value from the union with the kind of power you have.”
“You don’t want to give values that hurt competition, even if it means helping workers.” PETROAN’s position is that we are asking the President, the National Security Advisor, the IG, and the DSS to step in and promptly bring everyone to the table before noon on Monday so that we can talk about it.
“We shouldn’t listen to people who are on the side of or against the decision,” said one person. It’s a risk that’s coming, and we in PETROAN already know how the problems will play out.
“This is what we’ve been yelling about since January or so, when we started talking about things that will be like anti-competitive behavior,” he said.
Abubakar Maigandi, the IPMAN National President, told our reporter that oil marketers were working to bring the two sides together and that the talks will resume on Monday.
He remarked, “We are still asking the NUPENG members and Dangote to work out their differences.”
“I can’t really say what the strike by tanker drivers will mean for now. We can only ask them to make peace with the other side.
“We’ll see how we can talk to the tanker drivers when work starts up again on Monday.” We will then fully hear what is going on, I’m sure.
Joe Ajaero, the president of the NLC, said in a statement yesterday that Labour had looked at NUPENG’s petition and called the Dangote Group’s actions “crude and dangerous.”
The NLC said that other unions representing workers in the group’s many businesses, such as cement, sugar, and flour, have made similar complaints. This suggests that there is a wider pattern of labor conflicts.
“The things that NUPENG said are not only an attack on oil workers, but also a full-blown declaration of war against trade unionism and the idea of decent work,” the NLC added.
It said that the oil and gas business paid among of the lowest wages in the industry, didn’t let workers join unions of their choosing, and encouraged casualization and risky working conditions.
The NLC also said that the organization preferred to hire foreigners over competent Nigerians, pointing to the fact that they had hired welders and fitters from India in the past while qualified Nigerians were still out of work.
The legislature argued that these kinds of actions were unfair and monopolistic, which went against the claims of the Dangote Refinery project to create jobs, industrialize the country, and improve the economy.
The NLC cautioned that if the anti-union practices were not stopped, they might set a dangerous precedent that would let big companies break Nigerian labor laws and international agreements on freedom of association and collective bargaining.
The congress announced a number of steps, including putting Nigerian workers and unions on high alert, forming a united front against the Dangote Group’s labor violations, and backing NUPENG’s plan for industrial action if the refinery didn’t back down.
It asked the federal government and regulatory bodies, such as the Nigerian Midstream & Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, to step in and make sure that labor rules are being followed.
“Attacking NUPENG is like attacking all of us.” The NLC remarked, “Nigerian workers are not slaves and can’t be abused over and over again without consequences.”
“We will fight this tyranny head-on until victory is won for Nigerian workers and the Nigerian people if Dangote keeps going down this reckless anti-union path.”
South-West IPMAN is preparing to go on strike.
Oyewole Akanni, the IPMAN Western Zone Chairman, indicated that the group was ready to stop doing business on that date.
He claimed that this choice was made after a meeting of the zonal council that included members, officials, depot chairmen, and secretaries from all around the South-West.
He said, “The strike is in support of NUPENG because they are worried about the job security of petroleum tanker drivers.”
Akanni said that if Dangote Refinery and MRS Energy went into the business of distributing petrol, it might put more than 4,000 trucks owned by IPMAN members at risk and put thousands of employment at risk.
“More crucially, this move also goes against the Petroleum Industry Act, which says that a corporation that refines crude oil can’t directly distribute products. He went on to say, “This is a clear violation of the law that governs operations in the downstream sector.”
Akanni asked the federal government to preserve the Petroleum Industry Act and promised to fight against any monopolies in the industry.
The drivers’ group says no to the strike.
The Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association, on the other hand, turned down the planned strike, saying that it was important to make things clear for the public and defend drivers’ rights.
Enoch Kanawa, the association’s National President, signed a statement that made it clear that the group represented drivers in both the wet and dry cargo sectors, including Dangote and MRS drivers.
The group said it would not get in the way of other groups’ work, but it did underline its dedication to driving safety, education, and open government.
Kanawa remarked, “Anyone who has a license to drive a heavy-duty vehicle should be mature enough, physically, mentally, and emotionally, to know which organization can best serve his or her own needs.”
Part of the statement said, “The DTCDA fully supports the deregulation of the downstream sector of the Nigerian economy and Mr. President’s Renewed Hope agenda, in which our members will play a key role in the distribution of goods and services across the country.”
Yesterday’s attempts to get to the Dangote refinery were unsuccessful.
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