Reconsider Planned Strike, FG Begs NUPENG
The federal government on Monday pleaded with the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) to reconsider its planned strike.
It specifically called on the NUPENG leadership to give the government listening ear regarding how the issue it has with Dangote Group will be resolved for the interest of the nation at large
Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, made this plea at the headquarters of the ministry while playing host to representatives of NUPENG at a meeting he summoned.
The federal government had on Sunday stepped into the industrial dispute between the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers and Dangote Refinery, urging the union to suspend its planned nationwide strike scheduled for Monday, September 8.
In a statement signed by the ministry’s Head of Information and Public Relations, Patience Onuobia, the Minister appealed to NUPENG to shelve its planned shutdown of petroleum operations and urged the Nigeria Labour Congress to withdraw the “red alert” it had issued in solidarity with oil workers.
“Since I have intervened, I plead with NUPENG to rescind their decision to shut down the petroleum sector.
“I also appeal to the NLC to withdraw the red alert it issued to its affiliate unions to be on standby for a nationwide strike,” Dingyadi said.
The Minister warned that a strike in the petroleum sector would cause widespread disruption across the country and result in significant losses to government revenue.
“The petroleum sector is very important to this country. It constitutes the core of the country’s economy. A strike in the petroleum sector, even for just a day, will have an adverse impact. It will not only lead to revenue losses running into billions of naira but also cause untold hardship for Nigerians,” he cautioned.
He assured that government would ensure peace prevails, promising a resolution that satisfies both labour and the refinery.
“The matter will be resolved amicably to the satisfaction of all the parties involved,” the minister stated.
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) had accused Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, and his cousin, Sayyu Aliu Dantata, of engaging in “unlawful and unconstitutional anti-union practices,” warning that it may mobilise for a shutdown if the alleged clampdown on workers’ rights persists.
In a statement jointly signed by its President, Williams Akporeha, and General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, the union condemned the refusal of the Dangote refinery to allow newly recruited compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered tanker drivers to join existing labour unions.
It vowed that members of its Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch would begin seeking alternative sources of livelihood from September 8, citing attempts to undermine organised labour in the oil and gas sector.
The union said its concerns stemmed from Dangote’s plan to replace existing tanker drivers with 4,000 new CNG-powered trucks acquired for fuel distribution nationwide.
Reconsider Planned Strike, FG Begs NUPENG is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
