Oil groups and oil workers in Nigeria were to begin, Tuesday, an indefinite strike to protest Federal Government’s planned deregulation of the oil sector, and the proposed sale of refineries and deregulation of the oil sector and the continued insecurity in the Niger Delta.
The National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers NUPENG had directed its members nationwide to commence an indefinite strike. The oil groups said it had no option but to embark on the strike because of the inability of the Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) to be on the path of justice and recognize the fact that labor creates wealth.
A protest letter was presented to Kaduna state governor Mr. Namadi Sambo, for onward delivery to President Umaru Yar’Adua. The oil groups after their National Executive Council meeting, warned that they should not be blamed for the unpalatable consequences their action might cause the nation as they may not be able to guarantee industrial harmony unless their demands were met.
According to Mr. Bayo Olowosile, General Secretary of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), “It was gathered that the various letters written to IPMAN on the subject matter were treated with a wave of hand. The intervention of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Productivity in Abuja in 2001 on the need to negotiate with the workers made IPMAN under the leadership of Chief Bestman Anekwe to hurriedly sign conditions of service. It is disheartening that despite all the myriads of problems faced by the employees in the course of discharging their duties, their management is insensitive to the plight of their workers and they are still operating in the era of slave labor which is now alien to many organizations in both private and public sectors.”
As a result of the nationwide strike, distribution of petroleum products to parts of the country will be disrupted. Reacting to an impending strike by oil workers in the Niger Delta, Mr Olowosile added that: “It is disheartening that despite all the myriads of problems faced by the employees in the course of discharging their duties, their management is insensitive to the plight of their workers and they are still operating in the era of slave labor which is now alien to many organizations in both private and public sectors.”
