By Our Correspondent
Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, has instructed its members to embark on a nationwide strike starting from today (Monday) over the alleged mass dismissal of 800 workers by Dangote Refinery.
In a circular issued after an emergency National Executive Council meeting on Saturday, September 27 and signed by its General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, the union accused the refinery of violating Nigeria’s labour laws, the constitution and International Labour Organisation conventions by dismissing workers for joining the association.
NEC alleged that the refinery had replaced the dismissed staff with “over 2,000 Indians,” calling the action “an affront to all workers in Nigeria.”
To press its demands, PENGASSAN directed members in field locations to down tools from Sunday and ordered a total nationwide shutdown across offices, companies, institutions and agencies from today.
The letter reads in part: “All PENGASSAN members working across field locations are to withdraw services effective 06:00hrs on Sunday, September 28 and commence 24-hour prayers. This includes all control room operations, panel operations and outfield personnel.
“All PENGASSAN members across all offices, companies, institutions and agencies should withdraw all services effective 00:01 on Monday, September 29.
“No intervention whatsoever will be entertained across field locations except where the safety of personnel and assets is at risk; such clearance must be obtained from the National Secretariat.
“All processes that involve gas and crude supply to Dangote Refinery should be let off effectively immediately.
“All IOC branches must ramp down gas production and supply to Dangote Refinery and petrochemicals.”
It announced 24-hour prayer vigils and appealed for government’s intervention, declaring that the strike will continue until the dismissed workers are reinstated.
“An injury to one is an injury to all. No man is bigger than our country,” the circular said.
The refinery has been recently embroiled in a bitter row with the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers over labour rights and safety standards.
It would be recalled that the union and Dangote Refinery had been in a running battle when the management of the refinery in a letter dated September 24 ordered the sack of some staff over alleged sabotage that it said threatened the operational safety of the 650,000-barrel-per-day facility.
PENGASSAN put the number of sacked staff at around 800 and called on labour unions, relevant government agencies and other stakeholders to intervene, describing the matter as one of “urgent national importance.”
However, the company denied the alleged mass sacking, saying it was conducting an internal reorganisation to improve efficiency and insisted that the majority of its workforce remains Nigerians.
