The current face-off between Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, has taken a new turn. The union recently directed its members to cut off gas and crude oil supplies to the refinery in protest over the alleged victimisation and disengagement of unionised workers.
In a press statement from its National Secretariat to branch leaders, the General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, PENGASSAN, Dangote Refinery’s management cannot keep targeting workers who exercise their constitutional right to freedom of association.
According to him, rather than engage in dialogue to resolve grievances, the company keeps resorting to “misinformation and propaganda” to justify its actions.
“The management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery has disengaged our members in reaction to their decision to unionise. This illegitimacy cannot stand,” it read.
After the directive, the Nigeria Gas Infrastructure Company, NGIC, unit was ordered to stop all gas supply to the refinery with immediate effect.
Crude oil supply valves to the facility are also to be shut, while loading operations for vessels headed there are to be suspended.
The latest development clearly marks the latest twist in the growing standoff between the refinery, with PENGASSAN mandating all affected chairmen to report promptly on the progress of compliance.
The union concluded by insisting that the refinery’s practices contravene Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of association, as well as the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act of 2010.
