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12 August, 2005ICEM News release No. 68/1998
Confusion surrounds moves by the Nigerian government to lift restrictions on the oil workers' unions NUPENG and PENGASSAN. The withdrawal of government administrators from the unions' offices was announced last week - but today the unions were still under government control.
On 11 August, Nigerian Head of State General Abdulsalam Abubakar repealed decrees dating back to 1994, under which the two unions were kept under the tutelage of government-imposed "sole administrators" and union activities were severely circumscribed. The two unions' elected General Secretaries, Frank Kokori and Milton Dabibi, had been detained in 1994 and 1996 respectively, and were held without trial until their release this June.
On the phone from Lagos today, Dabibi and Kokori told ICEM UPDATE that they welcome the move to end government intervention in their unions - but that it has not so far been put into effect.
In fact, the government has instructed its "sole administrators" to stay at their posts inside the unions for the time being.
This has given rise to concern that the military-led government may attempt to convene union congresses and new leadership elections while PENGASSAN and NUPENG are still under its control. The two unions and their members could not accept this, Kokori and Dabibi warned today. First, the unions must be handed back to the current democratically elected leaderships, they insisted. Then congresses would be convened and elections held.
A delegation from the UN's International Labour Organisation has now arrived in Nigeria to examine the trade union rights situation there. Dabibi and Kokori will be discussing these and related issues with the ILO representatives on Friday.
"Milton Dabibi and Frank Kokori are right. Clearly, NUPENG and PENGASSAN must be handed back to democratic control without further delay," commented Vic Thorpe today. Thorpe is General Secretary of the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), to which the two Nigerian unions are affiliated.
"Oil and allied workers worldwide will continue to campaign on this issue until PENGASSAN and NUPENG have regained full trade union freedom," Thorpe pledged.
On 11 August, Nigerian Head of State General Abdulsalam Abubakar repealed decrees dating back to 1994, under which the two unions were kept under the tutelage of government-imposed "sole administrators" and union activities were severely circumscribed. The two unions' elected General Secretaries, Frank Kokori and Milton Dabibi, had been detained in 1994 and 1996 respectively, and were held without trial until their release this June.
On the phone from Lagos today, Dabibi and Kokori told ICEM UPDATE that they welcome the move to end government intervention in their unions - but that it has not so far been put into effect.
In fact, the government has instructed its "sole administrators" to stay at their posts inside the unions for the time being.
This has given rise to concern that the military-led government may attempt to convene union congresses and new leadership elections while PENGASSAN and NUPENG are still under its control. The two unions and their members could not accept this, Kokori and Dabibi warned today. First, the unions must be handed back to the current democratically elected leaderships, they insisted. Then congresses would be convened and elections held.
A delegation from the UN's International Labour Organisation has now arrived in Nigeria to examine the trade union rights situation there. Dabibi and Kokori will be discussing these and related issues with the ILO representatives on Friday.
"Milton Dabibi and Frank Kokori are right. Clearly, NUPENG and PENGASSAN must be handed back to democratic control without further delay," commented Vic Thorpe today. Thorpe is General Secretary of the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), to which the two Nigerian unions are affiliated.
"Oil and allied workers worldwide will continue to campaign on this issue until PENGASSAN and NUPENG have regained full trade union freedom," Thorpe pledged.