The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria says it will continue to fight for the rights of oil workers affected by recent layoffs at Dangote Refinery, despite suspending its nationwide strike.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday, PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo said the union only called off the strike after the Federal Government stepped in as a mediator.
He explained that the government had given assurances that it would “force the system to do what is right” in addressing the dispute.
“Do we have our suspicion? The answer is yes. Do we truly believe that he is going to do what is right? The answer is no, because they have a serial history of breaking agreements,” Osifo said, referring to Dangote Refinery.
Osifo stressed that PENGASSAN’s concern is not about the union’s image but about the workers whose jobs were terminated.
“It is not about PENGASSAN; it is about the workers, the Nigerians, that were abruptly terminated because they were exercising their freedom of association,” he said.
According to him, the union remains cautious but will be closely monitoring the government’s promises. He added that PENGASSAN still has “the tools of negotiation, the tools of discussion, and the tools to take it to the maximum level” if agreements are not respected.
The standoff follows weeks of tension between PENGASSAN and Dangote Refinery over labour rights. The Ministry of Labour had issued a communique aimed at resolving the crisis, leading to the suspension of the strike.
Osifo, however, insisted that the union is ready to act if the outcome does not favour affected families.
“PENGASSAN has been around before Dangote Industries were founded. We have been around for close to 50 years now, so for us, we are not perturbed in any way if it was a deceit. We are still here. Our tools are still available,” he said.
