Oil workers under the umbrella of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG), (Eastern Command) will begin an indefinite industrial action from today.
The union said it was calling the strike over what it described as the non-recognition of its members working at the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), Bonny.
The National President of the association, Mr. Peter Akpatason, who confirmed the planned action in a telephone interview with THISDAY last night said the strike would begin in the Eastern command by 12 midnight.
He said the strike might translate to a nation-wide action from next week, if the management of Bonny LNG did not grant the workers request.
Explaining the reasons for their action, Akpatason said the issue was about unionising of their members working for the Bonny LNG.
According to him, the Ministry of Labour, on getting wind of the action, had intervened and advised the company to recognise the workers as it is in accordance with Labour laws, but the management of the company had refused.
“They were invited to several meetings but they refused to show up even with the union’s mandate and not until two weeks ago when they sent some representatives to meet with the union in Abuja. After the meeting, a communique was drawn, the union signed and at the point of the representative from NLNG to sign, they got a call not to do so and dissuaded the contractors from doing so,” he said.
He said NUPENG then gave the company an ultimatum, adding that when they got to the Bonny office, they had another meeting and another communique was drafted but still, the company refused to oblige but instead involved the police.
“The DPO in Bonny now drafted a communique and gave to the union to sign, but the union this time refused to do so, on the ground that the communique drafted by the Bonny DPO did not reflect their position as at that time the discussion and conclusions at the various meetings were reached and that it is not the responsibility of the of the DPO to draft a communique,” Akpatason said.
He said the worker thereby engaged in a peaceful protest within the premises of the company, but that the company management invited the police and the Joint Task Force (JTF).
The protesting workers were brutalised, adding that the securitymen used tear gas and even plugged out the eye of one of the workers, who is presently in the hospital, he said.
Prompted by this, the union, he said, decided to embark on strike until the soldiers that perpetrated the act were brought to book and the union workers are recognised and compensated.
He said, although the compensation aspect is secondary, the strike would not be called off until the soldiers are persecuted and the union recognised, maintaining that if by this week that was not done, the strike would become national.
Reacting to the planned strike, the management of the NLNG who claimed that there was no basis for such action, described the workers’ assertion as incorrect and inaccurate.
The company explained that NUPENG had for some time been in a trade dispute with some of NLNG’s contractors and service providers, but the union claimed that the planned strike would ensure that NLNG complied with a directive from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity to allow NUPENG to unionise workers of its third party contractors and service providers.
In a statement, the NLNG stated categorically that it was not a party to the trade dispute and did not believe that the ministry would contemplate such a directive in a matter that did not concern the company.
The managing director of the company, Dr. Chris Haynes, said, “NLNG has been supportive of creating an enabling environment for dialogue and a quick resolution between the union and these service providers.
“While NLNG recognises the right of NUPENG to canvass for membership, it frowns at any attempt to draw the company into this dispute that is between its contractors and their employees. Nigeria LNG is a responsible corporate citizen and would not coerce any worker into joining a union, as the Nigerian law makes union membership voluntary. Nigeria LNG has no issues with NUPENG and is not anti-union.
“It is on record that some members of staff of contractors providing services to NLNG are members NUPENG. There are also NLNG direct members of staff who are members of the Senior Staff Association – PENGASSAN. As a responsible corporate citizen, NLNG recommits itself to seeking peaceful and amicable resolution to all disputes, and urges all the parties involved in this dispute to intensify efforts to bring the dispute to a quick and mutually acceptable end,” the statement read