Major oil companies operating in Nigeria that routinely disengage their indigenous staff under the pretext of redundancy and employ casual workers will henceforth face the wrath of the Federal Government.
The Minister of State for Energy, in-charge of Petroleum, Mr. Odien Ajumogobia, handed down the warning on Friday, while receiving a delegation of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers in his office.
The minister was responding to the complaint by the president of the trade union, Mr. Peter Akpatason, that oil companies were taking advantage of the crisis in the Niger Delta to retrench workers and bring in contract staff to do the same jobs.
Akpatason said, �It is not as if the vacancies no longer exist. They take out pensionable workers who are direct employees, and replace them with contract workers most of whom are on three monthly contracts and have no conditions of service.
�If this is not checked, in the near future, we will have greater crisis than what is presently experienced in the Niger Delta. Because these disgruntled persons are ready tools for people to manipulate.�
In his response, Ajumogobia said, �Redundancy are very clear, but you cannot fire somebody under redundancy and bring another person. I will want a detailed report on it. I will work with the Ministry of Labour on it.�
He admitted that the oil and gas industry was not human intensive and further investments in technology by the oil companies had reduced the number of employment opportunities.
Meanwhile, Chevron Nigeria Limited has sacked three of their Nigerian staff following the recent industrial action embarked on by the workers.
Akpatason, who confirmed this in Abuja on Friday, said the company alleged that the affected staff manhandled other members of staff in the course of the strike embarked upon by NUPENG members in April.
According to him, the action of the company contravened the collective agreement the workers entered into with the company on the disciplining of staff.
He claimed that part of the terms agreed during the resolution of the strike was that no member of staff would be penalised for their role in the strike.
The union leader stated that the management of Chevron ought to have brought the allegation of the wrong doing before the union before taking the action as well as providing evidence of the wrong doing.
He added that the process of punishment should also include querying and issuing a letter of warning before sack, adding that the oil company did not carry out any of these before sacking the members of staff.
Akpatason insisted that NUPENG would not accept the decision of the company and would take every possible action to get reversed.
Activities at the Chevron Nigeria Limited offices nationwide were paralyzed in the middle of April 2008 sequel to the strike action embarked upon by the company�s unit of National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers.
The workers were demanding for improved condition of service and increase in their daily emoluments.
But Chevron�s management in confirming the action said the workers belonged to other companies who are contractors to Chevron.
�We can confirm that contract employees of some of the companies providing labour workforce to Chevron, and belonging to the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, initiated the strike action at Chevron�s Warri, Port Harcourt and Lagos locations�, the General Manager Public Affairs, Mr. Femi Odumagbo said then.
He claimed the workers did not give the oil firm any notice prior to the strike neither did it declare any trade dispute
Relevant government agencies and the national leadership of the Union intervene towards resolving the issues.