Victor AHIUMA-YOUNG

Workers in the Nigeria’s oil and gas sector have rejected the austerity measure recently announced by the Federal Government, saying it is at aimed further pauperizing the downtrodden masses of Nigeria.

Oil Installation

Speaking through the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, the oil workers expressed concern over imposition of austerity measures as announced by the Federal Government following the falling crude oil prices in the international market.

NUPENG in a statement by its President, Mr. Igwe Achese, warned that “the austerity measure is another ploy to further pauperise the downtrodden masses of this country.

The past austerity measures like the Structural Adjustment Progamme, SAP, only brought untold hardship on the people. NUPENG condemns the latest austerity measures because the Federal Government should have been prepared long before now for any shock to the nation’s economy.

The union wants to know what happened to the excess crude account, which could be used to cushion the effect of the economic shock as a result of the drastic drop in oil sales in the international market.

“We call on the Federal Government to look beyond oil, as we cannot continue to run the economy of this country basically on proceeds from oil to execute the budget. Nigeria is blessed with a lot of solid minerals that have remained untapped for years.

We also have abundant farm produce, like cocoa, palm produce and other agricultural products that would generate employment and foreign exchange but lying idle because of over dependence on oil.

“Even our crude oil has over 70 by-products that have not been tapped and yet we are panicking because of low sales of crude oil. The Union calls on our policy makers to go back to the drawing board and develop new strategies beyond oil to revamp the economy.

It is a shame that only rhetoric’s has become the order of the day, instead of tapping these unharnessed resources.” It added “that over taxing the people at this point in time will not do us any good, when the economy is in shambles, but to develop other natural resources for revenue generation.”

Similarly, Chevron workers stressed the need for the employers and labour in the country to work closely to find ways of mitigating the effects of the drop in crude oil prices measure on workers, companies’ operations and the economy at large.

Speaking during a two day training organised by the Chevron Branch of PENGASSAN in Lagos, the Branch Chairman, Frank Esanubi, said the collaboration would enable both workers and management to fashion out ways to deal with the challenges that accompany the free fall in oil prices.

According to him, it would be unethical for management to unilaterally and against procedures implement decisions that were anti-workers in their bid to cut operational costs as a result of the dwindling oil prices.

Esanubi called on the government to mandate employers to obey legal frameworks that encouraged decent employment and unionisation of workers, saying “it is only decent work that can guarantee robust industrial harmony and improved productivity.”