NUPENG members in Chevron are currently on strike over the matter preparatory to the national strike planned for next week.

Similarly, NUPENG and PENGASSAN have issued a 21-day ultimatum to the management of Conoil Plc to recall retrenched over 100 workers in both its upstream and downstream including union leaders sector in line with earlier understanding between the leaders of the both union and the company’s management or risk series of industrial actions.

At a meeting of the leaders of the both unions in Benin City, Edo State, the oil workers also took strong exception to alleged moves by the Federal Government to doctor and deviate from the original Oil and Gas Industrial Committee (OGIC) report, advising government against the move.    

Leaders of NUPENG and PENGASSAN have accused the management of Chevron of meddling in union activities and forcing on the workers management preference contrary to what the labour law says.

A source at the meeting told Vanguard that leaders of the two unions have been informed that beside forcing workers to join the union of management preference, the management is trying to compromise officials of the Ministry of Labour to reverse an earlier agreement reached on the issue to fraudulently give illegal backing to management interference into union’s activities.

Vanguard gathered that the dispute began late last year when the management of Chevron stopped deducting the check off dues of the affected workers to NUPENG in December on the ground that the workers belonged to the Maritime union.

Confirming the development to Vanguard on telephone, President of NUPENG, Comrade Peter Akpatason, said; “when the issue of unionising the workers came up, 121 out of 122 of the workers indicated interest to join NUPENG and leaders of NUPENG then unionised them.

Because of the way we negotiate for our members, the management then started playing games, forcing the workers to the Maritime union to deny them their benefits.

This created a crisis and in December 2007, the management stopped deducting the workers check off dues to us.

NUPENG and PENGASSAN deliberated this issue Wednesday last week and decided to tackle it head on since it is against labour laws.

“As we speak, NUPENG members in Chevron are on strike over the matter. Leaders of NUPENG and PENGASSAN have resolved that should the management of Chevron refuse do the right thing by next week, we will declare a national strike. This position was also endorsed the leaders NUPENG at its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Benin City,  on Friday,” he said.

On the union’sgrievance with Conoil, Comrade Akpatason said leaders of NUPENG and PENGASSAN, have condemned, in its entirety, the unfriendly labour practices of the management of BELBOP/CONOIL with respect to flagrant violations of the agreement between the company on one hand and NUPENG and PENGASSAN on the other.

According to the NUPENG’s President, this issue had been lingering for some time now. The matter concerns both the upstream and downstream. We reached agreement with the management that the workers that were made redundant be recalled including union leaders to show that the management is not anti-union. The management has completely gone against the agreement. Even when the management decided to re-engage some of them, it placed them on casual.  

“At the end of  meeting of NUPENG and PENGASSAN, the House hereby calls on BELBOP/CONOIL Management to respect the spirit and letter of the agreement in question by recalling all the affected employees including the union officials without further delay. The house shall be compelled to take necessary industrial action if our call is not heeded within the next 21 working days. ”

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