1 month ago
25
By Victor Ahiuma-Young
The face-off betwixt Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, has escalated, arsenic the national has directed its members to chopped disconnected state and crude lipid supplies to the refinery successful protestation implicit the alleged victimisation and disengagement of unionised workers.
In a directive from its National Secretariat to subdivision leaders, the General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, PENGASSAN, accused the refinery’s absorption of targeting workers who exercised their law close to state of association.
It said alternatively of engaging successful dialog to resoluteness grievances, the institution resorted to “misinformation and propaganda” to warrant its actions.
“The absorption of Dangote Petroleum Refinery has disengaged our members successful absorption to their determination to unionise. This illegitimacy cannot stand,” the national stated successful its memo.
Following the directive, the Nigeria Gas Infrastructure Company, NGIC, portion was instructed to halt each state proviso to the refinery with contiguous effect.
Crude lipid proviso valves to the installation are besides to beryllium shut, portion loading operations for vessels headed determination are to beryllium suspended.
PENGASSAN mandated each affected chairmen to study promptly connected the advancement of compliance.
The enactment marks the latest twist successful the increasing standoff betwixt the refinery and PENGASSAN.
Earlier, the union’s Dangote Refinery Branch, successful a petition to its Lagos Zonal leadership, alleged sustained anti-labour practices and economical among others by the management.
In the petition signed by Branch Chairman, Abdulfatai Muhammed, and Secretary, Eseoghene Choice, the national cited forced transfers of unionised workers, denial of idiosyncratic protective equipment, PPE, mediocre payment provisions, wage discrimination, and the dominance of expatriates successful absorption positions.
According to PENGASSAN, Nigerian engineers gain acold little than their peers successful comparable lipid and state companies, portion expatriates person importantly higher remuneration and inhabit astir apical absorption roles. The petition besides claimed that engineers are exposed to hazardous moving conditions without hazard allowance, wellness insurance, oregon compensation.
PENGASSAN insisted that the refinery’s practices contravene Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees state of association, arsenic good arsenic the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act of 2010.
However, Dangote Refinery has antecedently denied allegations of wide sack and anti-labour practices. In an earlier statement, the institution said it had not replaced Nigerian workers with foreigners, insisting alternatively that much than 3,000 Nigerians are presently employed astatine the refinery.
The refinery’s absorption explained that caller unit changes were portion of a reorganisation to heighten ratio and guarantee creaseless operations. It besides maintained that expatriates were lone brought successful to supply method expertise and cognition transfer, assuring that Nigerians would stay the bulk successful its workforce.
Despite the clarification, PENGASSAN maintains that the issues raised indispensable beryllium addressed urgently. The national has called connected authorities and regulatory authorities to intervene, informing that the situation, if unresolved, could destabilise the lipid and state manufacture and endanger nationalist vigor security.
The station PENGASSAN stops gas, crude proviso to Dangote Refinery implicit sack of workers appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.
English (US) ·