The federal government has asked the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENSASSAN) to rethink its planned strike against Dangote Refinery, which is set to start today.
Muhammad Dingyadi, the Minister of Labour and Employment, made this request yesterday. Channels TV said that his Ministry has taken steps to have both sides to sit down together to avoid their disagreement from getting worse.
Dingyadi said in a statement signed by Patience Onuobia, the Head of Information and Public Relations in the Ministry of Labour, that both the leaders of PENGASSAN and the management of Dangote Refinery have been invited to an emergency meeting in his office on Monday to settle their disagreement.
The Minister asked the leaders of PENGASSAN to call off the strike so that his Ministry could settle the disagreement in a calm way.
Dingyadi went on to say, “The Ministry of Labour and Employment, through the Director of Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations, has invited the leaders of PENGASSAN and the management of Dangote Refinery to a meeting in my office on Monday to work things out.”
“I ask both sides to remember how important the oil industry is to the country, as it is the backbone of her economy. A strike will not only cost the country a lot of money, but it will also make life harder for Nigerians. As a result, it will have negative effects on both national security and economic stability.”
The Minister implored the fighting parties to give peace a chance and promised them that the Federal Government would settle the disagreement in a way that was good for everyone and in the best interest of the country.
Notice of a strike
PENGASSAN told its members across the country to stop working after an emergency National Executive Council meeting on Saturday. This was because Dangote Refinery was said to have fired a lot of Nigerian workers.
The union said that the refinery broke Nigeria’s labor laws, the Constitution, and International Labour Organization rules by firing workers who joined the union.
It said that the refinery had hired “over 2,000 Indians” to replace the fired workers, which it called “an affront to all workers in Nigeria.”
PENGASSAN told its members in the field to stop working on Sunday and ordered all offices, businesses, institutions, and organizations in the country to close down on Monday.
“Stopping sabotage”
In response to PENGASSAN’s claim, Dangote Refinery maintained that the company’s recent reorganization, which resulted to the firing of several personnel, was meant to stop occasional acts of sabotage.
It also denied that the exercise was random, saying that it was done to make things safer and more efficient.
“This exercise is not random.” It is now vital to protect the refinery against frequent sabotage that has raised safety issues and made operations less efficient.
The firm said in a statement on Friday, signed by management, that “the above decision was made in the best interest of the refinery because there have been sporadic acts of sabotage in different parts of the refinery that have had serious effects on human life and safety concerns.”
The Dangote Refinery has been in trouble with oil and gas unions lately over topics including workers’ rights, safety standards, and how products are distributed.
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