The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) says it will join the indefinite strike announced by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC).
On Tuesday, the NLC and TUC issued a joint statement declaring the strike — scheduled for October 3, 2023 — to protest the petrol subsidy removal.
The unions will be protesting the government’s failure to make palliatives available to cushion the adverse effect of the subsidy removal, which has more than doubled the price of the product from N189 to over N568 per litre.
NUPENG said its members will comply with NLC and TUC directives because they find it “disturbing and unfortunate” that the federal government is insensitive to the pains Nigerians are experiencing due to the policies of President Bola Tinubu.
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In a statement on Thursday, NUPENG said President Tinubu’s administration has not provided “any accompanying socio/economic policies to ameliorate and cushion the immediate effects and impacts those difficult and harsh policies are having on the citizenry”.
The oil industry union said the demands of labour have been met with a lack of regard and respect, as such leaders in its four zonal councils have been ordered to mobilise NUPENG members to shut down services from next week Tuesday.
“It appears the administration is arrogantly taking the goodwill and the tolerance level of the workers and Nigerians in general for granted,” NUPENG said.
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“This arrogance is demonstrated clearly and loudly by the ways and manners meetings with organized labour and outcomes of such meetings are taking (sic) with levity and disrespect.”
NUPENG said the government has given labour unions no other choice but to proceed with an industrial action that could negatively impact businesses and socio-economic lives just to demand policies that will end the dehumanising conditions Nigerians are living in.
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