PENGASSAN Suspends Strike After FG’s Intervention In Dangote Rift
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria has suspended its nationwide strike against Dangote Petroleum Refinery after the intervention of the Federal Government, but warned that the suspension is only temporary.
This comes after the Federal Government announced that it has brokered peace in the face-off between the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, after two days of conciliation meetings.
A statement issued in the early hours of Wednesday by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi, disclosed that the matter was resolved following lengthy discussions.
According to the statement, the resolutions reached included: “The Honourable Minister of Labour informed the meeting that unionisation is a right of workers in accordance with the laws of Nigeria, and this right should be respected.
“After examining the procedure used in the disengagement of workers, the meeting agreed that the management of Dangote Group shall immediately begin the process of redeploying the disengaged staff to other companies within the Dangote Group, with no loss of pay.
PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, announced the decision on Wednesday in Abuja after marathon negotiations with government officials and representatives of the refinery that stretched into the early hours.
The strike, which began on Sunday over alleged anti-union practices at the refinery, paralysed parts of Nigeria’s oil and gas operations before Wednesday’s truce.
The strike, which commenced on Sunday over alleged anti-union practices at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, was called off after marathon negotiations brokered by the Federal Government stretched into the early hours of Wednesday.
Osifo said the union was taking the “moral high ground” by bowing to government persuasion despite strong doubts about the sincerity of the Dangote Group.
Osifo stated, “We are only suspending, not calling off this strike.”
“If any part of this agreement is broken, we will not give any warning. We will immediately resume our suspended industrial action.”
He stressed that the industrial action was rooted in the fundamental right of workers to freedom of association, insisting that members joined the union “to secure better welfare and fair pay.”
According to him, PENGASSAN remains unsatisfied with aspects of the communique signed under the supervision of the Ministry of Labour, warning that the union’s patience should not be mistaken for weakness.
