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16 June, 2008
Tensions are mounting with ICEM Nigerian affiliate PENGASSAN against Royal Dutch Shell’s holdings in the country. Shell Petroleum Development Co. Ltd. (SPDC) is embarking on major retrenchments in its upstream sector, by merging four oil and gas businesses into a single entity.
PENGASSAN, the senior staff union in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, has threatened to strike Shell’s operations if the company continues to ignore labour law and undermine the union’s collective agreement regarding social dialogue over redundancies. Shell is a 45% partner with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) in the various operations, but serves as operating partner.
The controversy arises out of Shell’s desire to lop 2,000 of 7,000 white-collar jobs without national level dialogue, as well as demanding that workers re-apply for their jobs in the consolidated company.
According to PENGASSAN General Secretary Bayo Olowoshile, the company is selectively targeting for layoff union members who are close to full retirement, but not fully there.
PENGASSAN Gen. Sec. Bayo Olosohile
To qualify for full pensions, a senior staff member must be at least 45 years of age and have 15 years of service.
“We maintain that these retrenchments, first and foremost, must be voluntary and elective,” said Olowoshile, adding that 1,000 workers have expressed interest in redundancy packages. “But we also question why Shell has only targeted the middle and lower ranks for retrenchment, while whole levels of top managers are unaffected.”
Olowoshile said Shell has pierced the integrity of the national collective agreement, as well as the union’s constitution, by addressing the redundancies at branch level, rather than with PENGASSAN’s national secretariat.
Olowoshile also said Shell is creating discord in the communities of Nigeria’s oil patch. “Local citizens are becoming disoriented because they feel that Shell has now taken steps that will curtail job opportunities.”
In a 4 June letter to SPDC that gave notice of possible industrial action, the union calls the company’s retrenchment exercise “insensitive to the public and national interest.” In February, Nigeria’s National Assembly called for a halt to SPDC’s unilateral decision to retrench. And more recently, the NNPC has come on record, stating only those who have reached the retirement age, or who volunteer to be made redundant, should leave.
PENGASSAN awaits a SPDC’s response and a meeting with union leaders on the national level. The SPDC concern is a major issue before the union’s five-day Strategy Planning Synergies Conference, meetings involving the union’s 80-member Central Working Committee, which begins today in Ogun State.
Meanwhile, a PENGASSAN threat of strike against US-based Chevron’s upstream operations has diminished, following dialogue last week that relieved some of the serious safety concerns plaguing workers. And regarding Chevron downstream operations in Nigeria, the union is continuing to meet with Nigerian equity partners to obtain the 60% stake that the American company is selling.