PENGASSAN suspends strike ON JULY 14

THE National Executive Council, NEC, of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, in the early hours of yesterday, suspended the strike it embarked on over unresolved issues in the oil and gas sector. The suspension by the leadership of PENGASSAN was made possible after the association, the government team and international oil companies, IOCs, entered into a compromise for the recall of over 2,000 sacked workers. Addressing journalists in Abuja after its NEC meeting, National President of PENGASSAN, Mr. Francis Johnson, announced that the association had suspended the strike, adding that it was agreed by all the parties involved in the dispute that no worker that participated in the strike would be victimised. He directed all oil workers to commence work immediately. Meeting Before PENGASSAN suspended the strike, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, had embarked on a marathon meeting with the association and management of major oil producing companies, which lasted till about 3a.m., yesterday. The tripartite reconciliatory meeting, which also included the leadership of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, led by its President, Mr. Igwe Achese, did not end without heated arguments on some of the contentious issues before they were resolved. Also, as part of the peace deal, the Federal Government agreed to pay off an estimated $4.8 billion arrears of the old joint venture cash calls inherited by the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. PENGASSAN President, Johnson, explained that the $4.8 billion would “help the IOCs stem the tide of redundancies being declared in the industry and help address job losses.” Reading the communiqué issued at the end of the meeting between the Federal Government, leaders of the oil workers and the management of the international oil workers, Senator Ngige said: “The meeting agreed that where redundancy had been declared by some IOCs without going through Section 20 of the Labour Act, Cap L1 LFN 2004, such companies should revert to status quo ante bellum.” To meet again The parties, however, agreed that other negotiations not concluded as at yesterday morning, with collective bargaining agreement, should be deferred to Tuesday and Thursday, July 19 and 21, respectively, for further action. In the report presented at the first day of negotiation meeting held in Abuja, Ibe Kachikwu, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, disclosed that “almost all the IOCs have signed into these proposals.” In response to the questions raised on the ongoing restructuring of agencies under the ministry, the parties adopted Kachikwu’s presentation that “the restructuring of PPPRA, PEF, DPR, PTI, NNRA, PTDF and NCDMB had been done in these agencies and no jobs were lost or will be lost.” Federal Government also conceded to the demand for the repairs of major roads leading to the refineries, including the depot at Mosimi.

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