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The Nigerian Senior Oil and Gas Staff Association (Pengassan) has expressed displeasure in the “unfair sack” of more than 800 Nigerian workers with dangote refineries.
Pengassan deplored that workers who were fired were replaced with more than 2,000 Indian workers, many of them did not have valid immigration documentation.
The union lifts the alarm in a statement signed by the Secretary General, Kawan Lumumba Ighotemu Okugbawa, on Friday.
This noted that the steps by Dangote Refinery damaged the livelihoods of citizens and also raised serious concerns about the integrity of labor practices and compliance with the Nigerian Labor Law.
The association said that he had given a dangote refinery of an ultimatum to remember all fired workers, added that the failure to obey would leave it without options in addition to exploring all parts of the Nigerian constitution and the relevant labor law for the necessary legal actions.
The statement reads: “The leadership of the Nigerian Senior Oil and Gas Staff Association (Pengassan) expressed his deep anger regarding the recent anti-employment practice which was enshrined by Dangote Refinery.
“His in-depth anger about recent anti-employment practices that were enshrined by Dangote Refinery. We are very sad to report unfair termination of more than 800 Nigerian workers, whose dedication and services have become an integral part of this factory operation.
“Instead of assessing and maintaining this workforce, management has chosen to replace Nigerians who meet this requirement with more than 2,000 Indian workers, many of which do not have valid immigration documentation.”
“This step not only damages the livelihoods of our citizens but also raises a serious concern about the integrity of labor and compliance with the actions of Nigerian labor. Under part 7 of the Labor Law, which prohibits discrimination and ensures the right for fair treatment in the workplace, dangote refinery actions peak in violations of our labor law.
“The dismissal of a large number of Nigerian workers without consultation because or transparent justification is contrary to the rights given to all employees in Nigeria,” he said.
The union said that it would not tolerate the neglect of the brightness of the rights of Nigerian workers, especially given the provisions under the Labor Union Law, which perpetuated the right of workers to regulate and join the trade union.
“This new organization is the workers as members of the passing underlined their collective power and the right to protection based on law.
“We emphasize that such actions illustrate the troubling trend towards the marginalization of Nigerian workers who support foreign workers, who cannot, and will not, not, tolerate.
“The sacrifice and talent of our workforce deserves to be respected, and we demand accountability from entrepreneurs who have social responsibility to the community where they operate.
“In addition, we will neglect to ignore the broader implications of the pursuit of the capitalistic dangote groups outside the refinery sector.
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“Examples of exploitative practices have been reported in various sectors where the company maintains significant business interests. The pursuit of endless profit is at the expense of local talents, ethical work practices, and the welfare of the community is unacceptable.”
The union said that his party remained firm in its commitment to uphold the rights of Nigerian workers and would take all the necessary legal actions to be open to it as an association to ensure that workers were given the dignity and respect that they deserve.
“We have scheduled a meeting of the National Emergency National Executive Council (NEC) to direct the association in the future. We ask all Nigerians because it is to support this goal and oppose the exploitation of our workforce by capitalists who seek to damage our national priorities for their profits.
“The work of the slaves of our brothers and sisters should not be tolerated or supported, because injuries to someone are injuries to all,” he added.
Babajide Okeowo
