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26 October, 2010
The ICEM World Energy Conference, meeting in Stavanger Norway approved the following resolution regarding the Oil and Gas Industry in Nigeria.
While deploring the visa difficulties which have prevented a delegation of ICEM affiliated trade unions, NUPENG and PENGASSAN of Nigeria attending the Conference delegates discussed the situation in Nigeria.
Delegates expressed total support to the petitions by our unions to the Minister of Petroleum Resources, and urge him to address the issues and calm the situation to avoid avoidable industrial unrest in the sector.
In the petition the union listed some of the extensive unfair practices carried out by the industry including casualization/contract staffing, outsourcing and the refusal to allow workers to freely associate and unionise in accordance with Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution and International Labour Organisation, ILO, Conventions 87 and 98 of 1948 and 49 respectively.
The unions have identified Shell Petroleum Producing and Development Company, SPDC, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited , Nigeria Agip Oil Company, Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited as the main culprits.
Increased casualization has resulted in the placement of workers as temporary employees on jobs that are routine and permanent in nature. Multi-nationals and oil service companies in the industry, are contracting out and outsourcing very large portion of their workforce to unlicensed labour contractors to provide support services to the companies notwithstanding that the jobs are continuous, routine and permanent in nature and pay the contractors service handling charges or commission. The principal companies in most cases employ these categories of workers, supervise their conduct and determine their salaries but only transfer payment to the labour contractors.”
This group constitutes over 90% of the workforce of these oil companies. Another new dimension to the casualisation policy in the oil and gas industry is the resistance by some companies to unionization especially by NUPENG and PENGASSAN.
ICEM and our affiliated trade unions fully support the struggle of our Nigerian brothers and sisters and stand ready to coordinate international solidarity action in their support.