Dangote Refinery: PENGASSAN backs NUPENG, issues strike threat

By Victor Ahiuma-Young

The concern quality betwixt the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, and the Dangote Refinery has taken a caller crook arsenic the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, has declared afloat solidarity with NUPENG and threatened to articulation successful shutting down the refinery operations if the institution continues to defy unionisation.

In a powerfully worded connection by its General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, PENGASSAN expressed “unwavering solidarity” with NUPENG, describing the denial of workers’ close to unionise astatine Dangote Refinery arsenic unacceptable and a nonstop usurpation of Nigerian labour laws and planetary conventions.

The connection read: “On behalf of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), we are penning to explicit our unwavering solidarity with our state and sister union, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), successful their ongoing efforts to unafraid the rights of tanker drivers who are presently being hired astatine the Dangote Refinery.

“We privation to enactment connected grounds that Dangote Refinery absorption has been resisting imaginable members of some PENGASSAN and NUPENG from joining the Association since its inception. All diplomatic efforts to transportation the company’s absorption person truthful acold not yielded the desired result. 

“It is with heavy interest that PENGASSAN observes the expanding absorption to unionisation astatine the Dangote Refinery, arsenic the continued denial of workers’ rights volition nary longer beryllium tolerated going forward.”

PENGASSAN warned that unless the refinery’s absorption changes its stance, the relation volition beryllium near with nary enactment but to articulation NUPENG successful a showdown that could cripple refinery operations.

“We basal firmly successful enactment of NUPENG’s telephone for the afloat unionisation of not conscionable petroleum tanker drivers but each employees of the refinery and its allied companies. This is successful accordance with the principles acceptable distant by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and successful enactment with Nigerian labour laws. 

“The close of workers to organise and collectively bargain is not lone a cardinal quality close but besides indispensable for promoting just labour practices, ensuring safety, and upholding dignity successful the workplace.

“Should the ongoing concern persist without a resolution, PENGASSAN volition beryllium near with nary enactment but to articulation successful shutting down the refinery operations arsenic a past edifice to support our members’ rights and interests.”

The elder lipid workers’ national urged stakeholders, including the Federal Government, to intervene instantly and facilitate constructive dialog to avert a large situation successful the sector.

“We truthful impulse each stakeholders to prosecute successful contiguous and constructive dialog to code these pressing issues. Failure to recognise and respect the rights of workers to unionise volition person consequences that widen beyond Dangote’s refinery workplace, thereby impacting each facets of our industry.

“In unity, we advocator for the rights of each workers and pledge our enactment to NUPENG successful this captious mission. Together, we volition enactment towards an equitable and conscionable labour situation for each employees astatine Dangote Refinery”, the connection added.

The station Dangote Refinery: PENGASSAN backs NUPENG, issues onslaught threat appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.