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8 March, 2010
More and more, multinational companies, as well as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiaries, are using non-direct and contract workers to perform key functions in Nigeria’s oil and gas industries. That is the assessment of both ICEM affiliates in the country, the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
The proliferation of such employment – referred to as casualisation in Nigeria – in fact, has meant that many companies have completely done away with full-time junior staff, or blue-collar workers, in their employ. One example is Mobil Producing Nigeria, a subsidiary of the world’s largest energy concern, ExxonMobil, which has completely phased out NUPENG members in favour of contract staffing.
Casualisation in Nigeria is synonymous with cheap labour and maximisation of profits. The common fact is that when companies phase out full-time staff, they re-surface as short-term contract workers where rights to Freedom of Association are limited, their social entitlements are curtailed, and career paths become vague or non-existent.
In early February, the two unions combined to wage a two-day strike against Mobil Producing’s downstream operations across several states along the Niger Delta. The root cause of the strike was that several contractors serving Mobil Producing had sacked Nigerian nationals from full-time positions, replacing them disposable, casual workers. Those sackings were not just to junior staff, but also came among the ranks of highly skilled, professional, and experienced nationals in technical, engineering, administrative, and commercial positions.
Despite several conventions between the unions and employers to address casualisation, Mobil Producing refused to address the issue. This led the ICEM to bring the matter to the attention of the US-based parent company. That letter can be found here.
Pengassan and Nupeng leaders at ICEM Headquarters
At one subsidiary of NNPC, the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG), it is estimated that a full 60% of all workers are hired through labour brokers. They have no registered terms or conditions of work, are without social welfare benefits, and can be fired at will. It is equivalent to a modern form of slavery.
NLNG and other companies operating in Nigeria’s energy sector claim it is essential to their viability to outsource work not related to their core activities. But the question of what constitutes a company’s core business remains open. Is it exploration and drilling, marketing and transportation, catering and cleaning, clerical and administrative? Companies operating in Nigeria’s oil and gas patches make the argument that all are non-core. But in reality, all workers in these areas are oil and gas workers, and all deserve a minimum set of social benefits and job security measures, as set by national law and international labour standards.
NUPENG’s newly elected President Igwe Achese said there is ample evidence that “multinational companies and their indigenous collaborators collude in reducing direct employees in efforts to de-unionise, create disaffection among workers, and to evade responsible employment practices.
“All workers, whether full-time workers or those employed by contractors performing tasks for primary employers, deserve set conditions of work, rights and privileges, and certainty in career paths in order that they know they have secure futures.”
The ICEM will continue to champion NUPENG and PENGASSAN in the unions’ initiatives to combat the menace that casualisation brings to quality work life in Nigeria.