Oil workers suspend industrial action

Nigeria’s striking oil workers on Friday suspended their five-day strike after a lengthy meeting with the federal government.

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) on Monday embarked on a strike in protest of unresolved labour issues, prompting long queues for fuel in the federal capital territory and other parts of the country.

Two among the unions’ protestations were the failure of the government to carry out turn around maintenance of the nation’s refineries and cut down the prices of petroleum products in line with the fall of global oil price.

Another grouse of the unions was the sacking of a member, Elo Victor Ogbonda, by Total, after she was elected a zonal executive of PENGASSAN.

The unions demanded her immediate reinstatement, but the oil giant’s refusal to reinstate Ogbonda was believed to have the tacit sanction of the government.

However, after a 12-hour closed-door meeting, representatives of the unions and the government delegation led by Taminu Turaki, the supervising minister of labour, issued a joint communiqué with a promise by the government to resolve the issues raised by the unions.

The scarcity of petrol caused by the strike was biting in the capital city, as motorists complained that a litre of petrol on the black market was sold for N250.

“It is not our fault that there is scarcity of petrol. So we have to do business and survive,” Sanni Bature, a black market petrol peddler, had told TheCable.

In September when oil workers went on strike for five days, NUPENG said the industrial action cost the federal government more than N10bn.