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9 August, 2010
After three days of a partial petrol blockade on the federal capital district of Abuja, Nigeria, the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, and Mine Workers’ Unions (ICEM) affiliate, Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the union’s tank-truck drivers, lifted the strike on 6 August. That occurred when government ministers and leaders of NUPENG and PENGASSAN, ICEM’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association affiliate, met and crafted memorandums of understanding on both the worsening conditions of Nigerian roads and the repugnant and growing use of casual labour by oil and gas companies, particularly multinational concerns.
NUPENG did, however, issue a 14-day strike notice to the government on another issue: that of rehabilitation of Nigeria’s Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA). If the federal government does not call together a forum to correct the lack of transparency and alleged willful mis-allocation of products to marketers, NUPENG will strike the oil and gas depots of several multinationals across the Niger Delta later in August.
The Geneva, Switzerland-based ICEM supports NUPENG in its direct actions in Nigeria.
“There is serious corruption inside the allocation process of petroleum products,” said NUPENG President Achese Igwe. “We question the activities of the PPPRA in allocating products to marketers of unknown identity, and the PPPRA has shown no interest in revealing records or data on fuel allocations.”
Friday’s meeting did create separate memorandums on road conditions and on casualisation. Meeting with Minister of Labour and Productivity Chukwuemeka Wogu, Minister of State for Works Chris Ogiemwonyi, officials of both the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) and the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Co. (NNLG), and the employers’ grouping of multinationals operating in Nigeria, the Oil Producers’ Trade Section (OPTS), leaders of NUPENG and PENGASSAN did get immediate commitments.
Regarding casualisation and the ever increasing use of temporary or non-regular workers, a tripartite “Technical Working Group on Casualisation and Contract Staffing in the Oil and Gas Sector” was created. This working group will, between 30 and 90 days, produce a road map that will include analysis on why prior memorandums were not adhered to, and it must issue acceptable guarantees ensuring job security for casual workers.
NUPENG and PENGASSAN insist that such staff, across all oil- and gas-producing companies, be given immediate opportunities for full-time staff positions if they have the prerequisite skills. When this is not possible, the unions demand that conditions of employment be published and strictly adhered to that grant temporary workers all work rights and social benefits that permanent workers get.
Igwe said that the vast number of casual workers in oil and gas have no pension scheme and are without health insurance.
Regarding road conditions, which has caused the deaths of eight NUPENG tanker-truck drivers in the past three months, a Roads Monitoring Team was created that will consist of two members from NUPENG. Within a two-month time frame, this team will monitor roads and determine which ones need immediate improvement.
Igwe stressed the importance of this issue by stating that poor road conditions have caused unnecessary stops, resulting in robberies and kidnappings of truck drivers. The risk to public safety is also inherent since poor roads causing accidents has meant monumental disasters, considering the inflammable cargos that lorries carry.
On the issue of the PPPRA, Igwe said it remains a mystery as to which ministry or department of government the pricing authority reports to. The issue of transparency and accountability by the PPPRA is all-important in Nigeria with the country about to enact the Petroleum Industry Bill.
The ICEM is a Global Union Federation composed of 467 trade union affiliates in 132 countries.
For further information, contact ICEM Information Officer Dick Blin at [email protected], or +41 22 304 1842 (direct) or +41 79 734 8994 (mobile).