Workers in the country’s oil and gas industry yesterday rejected the N5 reduction in the pump price of petrol approved by the Federal Government, describing it as “a calculated ploy to hoodwink Nigerians in order to introduce full deregulation of petroleum products pricing”.
The position of the workers came just as Federal Government began discussions with the two unions, the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), to stave off looming strike in the oil sector.
In a joint position paper submitted to the Federal Government through the Minister of Labour, Prince Adetokunbo Kayode, the bodies stated that “government’s calculative route to imposing full deregulation of petroleum products pricing on Nigerians by hoodwinking with the temporary fluctuation of crude oil price is unacceptable to labour”.
The unions said a situation where over 80 per cent of the downstream oil markets depend on imports “is a bad omen and irrational”.
According to the unions, they were opposed to the “paltry reduction” in the pump price of petrol from N70 to N65 and the attempt by government to capitalise on such reduction as a premise to “unleash full deregulation” on the suffering masses of the country.
“Labour indeed expects government response to the persistent downward slide in crude oil price since July 2008 which raises concerns on the prevailing petroleum product pricing regime. Much as government is challenged by mixed reactions over the arbitrary margin accruing to downstream oil sector players and operators from absurd pricing situation at this period of oil price slump, government’s move to permanently remove subsidies and disregard the socio-economic consequences of full deregulation would propel inflation on living wage,” said the unions.
The unions led by PENGASSAN President, Mr. Babatunde Ogun, and his counterpart from NUPENG, Mr. Peter Akpatason, who presented their position to the Minister of Labour, said the road to any successful deregulation must be benchmarked against local cost of production instead of import parity.
“Government must take responsibility to establish functional refineries to meet and exceed our local consumption,” they said, adding that public-private sector initiative should be explored as an immediate viable alternative to engender local refining of petroleum products.
The unions said government should implement affirmative policy to compel the multinational oil companies to take active part in local production with favourable fiscal and legal environment, including crude oil concession to attract players and operators into refining business.
According to NUPENG and PENGASSAN, ensuring improved local production is the only viable measure to mitigate the effects of international oil market fundamentals.
Another issue that attracted protest from the oil workers is the hiring of a foreign firm, Messrs Colbalt International Services Limited, to take over the pre-shipment services in the 21 crude oil terminals as a decision, a function previously performed by the Department of Petroleum resources (DPR).
The unions said they are basing their opposition on the economic implications of the award of statutory function of DPR as service contract for a fee of 0.1 per cent per barrel of crude oil freight on board (FOB).
Based on this, the economic leakage given the daily production of 1.9mbpd and based on conservative $46 per barrel is estimated at $87,400 daily, according to the unions.
Besides, the oil workers were also not satisfied with slow progress in tackling the crisis in the Niger Delta as well as other contentious issues relating to perceived anti-labour laws by oil companies operating in the country.
“We believe that the Niger Delta issues were treated with levity making the situation to grow from mere agitation to vengeful and provocative destruction of oil facilities, installations and infrastructure; kidnappings and wastages of lives of both expatriate and Nigerian workers including their families and other criminal activities in the name of agitations,” they said.
The unions said they believed in a sincere and aggressive direct interventionist programmes of infrastructural/human potentials and capital development in the region coupled with providing an enabling security environment in the oil and gas industry for all the stakeholders.
On the issue of anti-labour laws by oil companies, NUPENG-PENGASSAN decried persistent job losses in the industry as a result of casualisation and contract staffing, describing the situation as worrisome development.
The unions blamed indigenous oil firms as the main culprits in casualisation, regretting that clamour for local content in the oil sector has not translated into better conditions of work for Nigerians serving under the local companies.
“Our greatest worry is the attitude of most of our Nigerians entrepreneurs towards Nigerian employees including their flagrant abuse of extant labour laws evidenced in non-recognition of workers’ right to belong to trade union, collective bargaining process, delay or non payment of salaries and complete disregard to signed agreements and communiqués,” they said.
While speaking at the event before they went into closed door meeting, Kayode noted that the purpose of the dialogue with the oil worker’s union was to establish the ground rules and guidelines that would enable both parties to clear up all outstanding disputes in the sector.
He said Federal Government was interested in maintaining industrial peace in the oil sector.
The Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, who participated in the meeting however declined to join issues with the labour movements over the modality adopted in arriving at the new fuel price.
He said the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) is the agency charged with responsibility to deal matters connected fixing to petroleum product prices in the country.
Jan272009