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4 October, 2010
The ICEM affiliated oil and gas workers’ trade unions in Nigeria, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), are threatening mass strike action if the Nigerian government continues efforts to pass a new legislation without their consultation that will deregulate the sector.
NUPENG and PENGASSAN have the power to shut down all oil and gas installations in the West African country, and are threatening to do so if the government continues unwise implementation of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
Workers have been frustrated at being excluded from the drafting process, while global oil corporations have been at the centre of negotiations. Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa, relies heavily on its oil resources. Although the predominately state-owned company is guilty of inefficiency, NUPENG and PENGASSAN oppose the sell-off of the industry to foreign investors without proper protections for the Nigerian economy and for protection of labour rights in this sector.
NUPENG and PENGASSAN has issued appeals and demands to the Joint Committee on Petroleum, the Inter-Governmental Committee, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Petroleum and Labour Ministers, and also in writing to President Goodluck Jonathan. These appeals call attention to the ambiguity in areas of the legislation that could easily be exploited by corporations.
The new legislation stands to cancel existing protections set up to rollback casualisation and the outsourcing of labour, already a dramatically growing problem in the sector.
PENGASSAN and NUPENG National Presidents, Babatunde Ogun and Achese Igwe, made a joint statement last week expressing shared concerns and demands. Also co-signing the statement were General Secretaries Bayo Olowoshile of PENGASSAN and Elijah Okougbo of NUPENG.
The ICEM supports the demands of both its affiliates, that the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill should be halted at least until it is made available for scrutiny by all affected parties. The progress of such a strategically important law must be transparent. The Joint Committee of the National Assembly and the Petroleum Minister must include oil workers’ trade unions in all deliberations and all legislation drafting.