A meeting between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) and the management of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has ended in a deadlock. The reconciliation meeting, called by the Federal Government, aimed to resolve the lingering industrial dispute between the two parties. It started at 4 p.m. on Monday and lasted for about nine hours into the early hours of Tuesday, with the Minister of Labour and Employment, Mohammed Dingyadi, and the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkiruka Onyejeocha, in attendance.
The meeting was initiated to address unresolved labor issues between PENGASSAN and the Dangote refinery. However, the stalemate has led to a decision to reconvene the meeting at 2 p.m. on Tuesday to resolve the deadlock. Members of PENGASSAN, led by President Festus Osifo, and some members of the Dangote refinery management attended the meeting at the conference room of the Minister of Labour and Employment.
The union and the private refinery are at loggerheads over issues such as the alleged illegal sacking of over 800 Nigerian workers by the management of the Dangote refinery. In response, PENGASSAN members barricaded the premises of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) in Abuja, complying with the directives from its national executive committee for a nationwide industrial action. The union members blocked the gate into the premises and gathered at the NNPCL office and those of the oil and gas regulators, singing solidarity songs.
The situation was replicated at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), with union members blocking the entrances to their premises. The union accused the refinery of violating Nigeria’s labor laws, the Constitution, and International Labour Organisation conventions by dismissing workers for joining the association.
In a statement, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery said the recent reorganisation in the company, which led to the sacking of some workers, was aimed at preventing intermittent cases of sabotage and addressing safety concerns and operational efficiency. However, the union remains unsatisfied, and the industrial action continues. The deadlock in the reconciliation meeting and the ongoing nationwide strike highlight the need for a resolution to the labor disputes between PENGASSAN and the Dangote refinery. The next steps in the meeting on Tuesday will be crucial in determining the outcome of the dispute.
