The 3 day warning strike threatened by workers under the aegis of Petroleum and Naural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) to drive home their point over insecurity in Niger Delta region effected in Port Harcourt with Total Oil chapter of the two unions ensuring compliance.
The Total Oil unit’s compliance was however at variance with the last minute cancellation of the warning strike by national bodies of the two oil workers unions.
Apparently miffed by what they called the double standard by their national body and their branch Chairman, one Kolawole Zaid, Total Oil workers denounced the position of PENGASSAN and NUPENG in Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Agip. They also went ahead to suspend Zaid.
They further removed Zaid by voting for his removal over allegation that he pitched tent with the other oil companies officials and refused to fly down from Abuja to address the Total chapter which he heads on the issue.
The workers locked the gate of Total and sang solidarity songs in front of the main gate where all workers except management staff were locked out of the premises of the French oil giant.
Inspite of the strike which crippled office activities, THISDAY had it on good authority that the production of crude oil from different fields managed by Total did not stop as technical staff manning such facilities had heeded the call not to go ahead with the action by the national body.
The workers who formed a big circle and danced round singing solidarity songs said they had to go ahead with the action because they were in the middle of the insecurity in the Niger Delta where they risk being kidnapped on daily basis.
They carried placards with various inscriptions like, “Release our kidnapped colleagues now”, “Our children are truamatised by the fear of being kidnapped daily”, “Implement the Niger Delta Development Master Plan now to develop the Niger Delta” and “If the government cannot provide us with security, they should resign”.Addressing the striking workers in front of the Total office complex where a white banner was tied across with a red inscription, “No entry”, the local chapter Chairman, Mr. Oyisi Okatahi, expressed regrett that when the oil workers had given notice that they were proceeding on strike to make the federal government take action on insecurity in the region, some people decided to back out.“When we were meeting with the Minister of Labour, Shell suddenly said we should give another 14 days ultimatum while Agip said we should rethink our stand and restrategise, then I knew they were abandoning the cause.
“I told them that I cannot go back and tell that to our workers who have already mobilized for the action. You can see that Total has between 60 to 70 percent of its workforce based in Port Harcourt zone so what we are doing now is by the majority of our workers.“Our branch Chairman called me on phone to tell me to suspend action, but I told him we will not be able to call our people out again for such cause if we do that. I also told him that he should fly down and address the workers himself if he believes we should go with the national body but he refused to come down.
“I don’t want a situation whereby we should go ahead and just push some of us out for them to deal with as if it is not a general decision, that is why I want us to decide now on what to do as a body whether we should continue alone or to back out”, Okatahi said.
Other leaders also spoke denouncing the position of the national body and pressed to go ahead with the action. Later, Okatahi asked those in favour of the suspension of Zaid to vote and they overwhelmingly voted for his removal and also for the continuation of the action as warning strike for three days. Thereafter, the workers dispersed.
Feb102009