Strike Action: FG To Meet NUPENG, PENGASSAN Today

The Federal Government will today hold a meeting with leaders of the oil workers, who embarked on a three-day warning strike to drive home their demands.

Although the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has promised Nigerians that there will be no scarcity of fuel as supply to the public would continue, workers, under the umbrella of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and its Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN's counterpart, operating as NUPENGASSAN, have not only stopped loading of products, major installations in both upstream and downstream have also, been shut.

To ensure the strike is not prolonged to the point where it starts to hurt the economy, the Federal Government through the Federal Ministries of Labour and Productivity as well as Petroleum Resources has convened a meeting to be held today in Abuja.

The workers are protesting, among others things, the inability of the government to carry out Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) on the refineries and reduce pump prices of petroleum products in line with the slump in global prices of crude oil; delay in the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB); non-implementation of the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act to reflect Nigerian's in management positions and expatriate quota law; appalling state of access roads to refineries and oil depots' facilities; insecurity in the country that has led to the death of members; appointments in government agencies in disregards to succession planning; compulsory deduction from workers' salaries for the National Housing Fund (NHF), casualisation and contract staffing and unfair labour practice by companies and government agencies.

Other grievances include termination of appointment of the Port Harcourt Zonal Secretary of the Association by Total Exploration and Production, Total E&P, Nigeria Limited; retardation of staff promotion in the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF); non- standardisation of nomenclature and collective bargaining agreement of the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NNRA), in line with what is obtained in other agencies in the oil and gas industry; refusal of the management of Addax/Petrostuff Nigeria Limited and Chevron/Sudelletra to recall sacked staff.