Dangote, PENGASSAN bicker over alleged mass sack of Nigerians, replacement with Indians

By Victor Ahiuma-Young

A warfare of words has erupted betwixt the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, and the absorption of Dangote Refinery implicit allegations of wide sack of Nigerian workers and their replacement with foreigners.
PENGASSAN, successful a connection by its General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, accused the refinery of terminating the employment of implicit 800 Nigerian workers and replacing them with much than 2,000 Indian nationals.
PENGASSAN described the determination arsenic “unjust” and a usurpation of Nigeria’s labour laws.
“We are profoundly saddened to study the unjust termination of implicit 800 Nigerian workers, whose dedication and work person been integral to the operations of this plant. Instead of valuing and retaining this workforce, absorption has chosen to regenerate these qualified Nigerians with implicit 2,000 Indian workers, galore of whom deficiency valid migration documentation,” PENGASSAN said.
The relation further argued that the alleged enactment undermines the payment of Nigerian workers and the integrity of the country’s labour system.
“The dismissal of specified a important fig of Nigerian workers without owed consultation oregon immoderate transparent justification contravenes the ineligible rights granted to each employees successful Nigeria,” the connection continued.
PENGASSAN besides linked the improvement to what it called a “worrying trend” of exploitative practices wrong the Dangote Group, accusing the conglomerate of prioritising nett implicit ethical practices and assemblage welfare.
Warning that it would not tolerate what it termed the “marginalisation of Nigerian workers successful favour of overseas labour,” the national issued an ultimatum to the refinery to reinstate each sacked staff.
“We truthful impulse the absorption of the Dangote Refinery to callback each terminated Nigerian workers. Failure to comply volition permission america with nary enactment but to commence exploring each sections of the Nigerian Constitution and the applicable labour laws,” the national warned.
PENGASSAN disclosed that an exigency National Executive Council, NEC, gathering has been scheduled to determine connected its adjacent people of enactment if its demands are not met. It besides called connected Nigerians to enactment the workers.
“This enslaved labour of our brothers and sisters indispensable not beryllium tolerated oregon supported, arsenic wounded to 1 is wounded to all,” the connection added.

Dangote debunks allegations

However, the absorption of Dangote Refinery has denied the allegations, insisting that much than 3,000 Nigerians proceed to enactment astatine the installation contempt an ongoing reorganisation.
In its response, the refinery explained that lone a tiny fig of unit were affected by the restructuring, which it said was indispensable to code sabotage and fortify operations.
“Over 3,000 Nigerians proceed to enactment actively successful our Petroleum Refinery astatine present. Only a precise tiny fig of unit were affected, arsenic we proceed to enlistee Nigerian endowment done our assorted postgraduate trainee programmes and experienced prosecute recruitment process,” the institution said.
According to the statement, the reorganisation followed “intermittent cases of sabotage wrong the installation with dire consequences connected quality beingness and related information concerns.
“The foregoing determination was taken successful the champion involvement of the refinery. We stay vigilant to our interior systems and vulnerabilities to guarantee the semipermanent stableness of this strategical nationalist asset. It is imperative to support the refinery for the payment of Nigerians, our partners crossed Africa, and the thousands of radical whose livelihoods beryllium connected it,” absorption explained.
Reaffirming its committedness to workers’ rights, the refinery said it adheres to internationally accepted labour principles, including the close of employees to determine connected national rank without interference.
It stressed that the restructuring was “an audit process to safeguard the semipermanent stableness of a strategical nationalist asset” and pledged to proceed moving with regulators, employees, and stakeholders to support transparency and accountability.

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