Workers in the nation’s oil and gas industry have concluded plans to
commence a nationwide warning strike this Monday to protest against the
federal government’s failure to carry out turnaround maintenance on the
refineries and reduce the pump prices of petroleum products in line with
the slump in global oil price.
The strike by the oil
workers under the umbrella of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff
Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum
and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) is also in protest against delay in the
passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
The strike follows the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum issued by the
National Executive Council (NEC) of PENGASSAN to the federal government
and other concerned employers’ and agencies in the sector.
The
oil workers’ unions, in a statement said the ultimatum had since
expired without any meaningful resolution or commitment from either the
government or the concerned employers’ and agencies at resolving the
issues.
They decried the non -implementation of the Nigeria Oil
and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act to reflect Nigerians
in management positions and expatriate quota abuse.
The
industrial action is also to protest the state of access roads to
refineries and oil depots’ facilities, insecurity all over the country
that has led to the death of members, appointments in government
agencies in disregards to succession planning, compulsory deduction from
workers’ salaries for the National Housing Fund (NHF), casualisation
and contract staffing and unfair labour practices by companies and
government agencies.
The statement added that the strike would
affect all operations in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors
of the oil and gas industry, as members will be withdrawn from all oil
and gas installations.
The unions explained that members had
been fully mobilised to embark on the indefinite strike adding that the
strike will not be suspended until there is a strong commitment from
the government and employers in the sector to resolve the issues.
According to the unions, government has refused to honour all
agreements reached with them on the turn around maintenance of the
refineries and ensure adequate supply of crude oil to the refineries.
The unions urged the government to put in place alternative strategies
to stop pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft, convene an industry
stakeholders’ forum on PIB status and address the issue of divestment in
the industry. They also called for immediate conversion of all contract
workers to regular staff in accordance with the approved contract,
casual and outsourcing in the oil and industry guidelines.
Credit: Linda Eroke/ThisDay
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