Nigeria may be headed for another wave of fuel scarcity as the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has directed its members to stop loading petroleum products from Monday, September 8.
In a strongly worded statement on Friday, signed by President Williams Akporeha and General Secretary Afolabi Olawale, the union accused the management of Dangote Refinery of anti-labour practices “inimical to the survival and livelihoods” of its members, particularly those under its Petroleum and Tanker Drivers Branch.
NUPENG expressed outrage over Chairman Aliko Dangote’s reported position that drivers recruited for the refinery’s 10,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks would be barred from joining trade unions. The union described the stance as a direct assault on the constitutional right of association and a violation of international labour laws ratified by Nigeria; The News Chronicle gathered.
Calling on the Nigerian Midstream & Downstream Petroleum Authority to act under the Petroleum Industry Act, NUPENG urged regulators to curb what it termed “abuse of dominant positions” in the sector.
“Nigeria ratified the ILO Convention on Freedom of Association as far back as 1960,” the union said. “Any employer policy depriving workers of this right is an affront to the Constitution.”
The statement further warned that unless the Federal Government intervenes and compels “two trillionaire businessmen” to comply with labour laws, the union will mobilize its members for a full-scale industrial action.
