Managing Di-rector of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Engineer Abubakar Lawal Yar�Adua, will today meet with the management of Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN), and the leadership of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) in an effort to resolve the five days old strike by members of PENGASSAN in MPN.
The workers who are on strike to press home their demand for improved pay packages among other things have vowed to continued their industrial action until management positively addressed their grievances.
The workers are demanding for improved welfare packages, repair of some of the company�s old facilities including some pipelines which had started leaking, non-compliance with the 2004 Pension Reform Act as agreed with the union when the Act came into existence, and abuse of expatriate quotas against the rules guiding the practices in the country.
The workers who on Friday prevented expatriate staff and top management staff of the company, except members of the company�s Board of Directors and some few managers, from gaining access to their offices and field operations in Lagos, Eket and Port Harcourt, had Friday said the all production capacities across the MPN formations have been shut down
Industrial watchers are expressing fears that the announcement of the total shut down of the company�s production capacities put at between 860,000 and 900,000 barrels of crude per day could compound the rising crude price in the international market.
Vanguard gathered that the Group Managing Director of NNPC had since Friday been making frantic efforts to get the leadership of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) under which umbrella the workers are on strike, meet with the management of MPN to resolve the matter.
Confirming the meeting with the GMD of NNPC, Mobil�s branch Chairman of PENGASSAN, Comrade George-Olumoroti Olusola, told Vanguard that the �GMD will tomorrow hold meeting with our national leaders and our management to find a way out of the dispute.
Although the management and government have been putting pressures on us to go back to work, we cannot do that until all our demands are met.
I am sure you know the implication of this strike to the nation�s crude capacity. Since the action began, the company has continued to lose between 860,000 and 900,000 barrels per day.� be meeting
The workers embarked on the strike after the negotiation between them and the management broke down on Wednesday.
Comrade Olusola said that the strike had on Friday became necessary because of the insensitivity of the management to the issue after the expiration of seven days ultimatum handed down to the management by the company..
According to him: �The process of shutting down operations is a cumbersome one and we will not want a situation whereby when we shut down finally, there will be damages to the machines. So, we began gradual shutting down of the machines in all our field locations in Eket and offshore locations since Thursday morning and by midnight, the shut down of the machines were completed.�
Mobil�s management had in a statement by MPN Executive Director, Gloria Essien-Danner, last week said: �Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN), Operator of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)/MPN Joint Venture confirms that the 2008 collective bargaining negotiation with the employee labour union, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN), was temporarily stalled due to some areas of disagreement.
Both parties are working to reach an agreement on issues.
However, the union has informed the joint venture that it intends to withdraw employee services to the operations if an agreement is not achieved by April 24; Production at the joint venture operations currently is not affected. The joint venture management restates its belief in resumption of negotiations as the most effective mechanism for resolving outstanding issues in the hope for a successful conclusion.�