Efforts by the Federal Government to avert the looming strike by the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) hit a brick wall on Monday, as a closed-door conciliatory meeting with the Dangote Group ended in deadlock.
The meeting, convened by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Mohammed Dingyadi, alongside the Minister of State, Nkiruka Onyejeocha, was aimed at resolving the industrial dispute triggered by alleged attempts by the Dangote Refinery to bar its compressed natural gas (CNG) tanker drivers from joining labour unions.
In attendance were national executives of NUPENG, representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
NUPENG had last week announced plans to withdraw its members from work starting Monday, September 8, in protest against the alleged anti-union practices. Although the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) and the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association (DTCDA) distanced themselves from the action, the union on Sunday reaffirmed its readiness to proceed with the strike.
Alarmed by the potential impact on the economy, the Federal Government had earlier appealed to NUPENG to shelve the action and allow dialogue to continue. Dingyadi, in a statement issued through the ministry’s spokesperson, Patience Onuobia, urged the union to reconsider its decision, warning that even a day’s disruption in the petroleum sector could result in huge revenue losses and hardship for Nigerians.
“The petroleum sector is very important to this country. It constitutes the core of the economy. A strike, even for just a day, will have an adverse impact, leading to heavy revenue losses running into billions of naira and causing untold hardship for Nigerians,” the minister said.
He also appealed to the NLC to withdraw its red alert to affiliate unions to prepare for solidarity action, stressing that the matter would be resolved amicably.
Despite the government’s intervention, Monday’s conciliation talks ended without an agreement, leaving the threat of a nationwide disruption in the petroleum sector unresolved.
