THE meeting between the delegation of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) and the management of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery over the lingering industrial dispute has ended in a deadlock.
News Point Nigeria reports that the reconciliation meeting called by the Federal Government started at about 4pm. on Monday.
The meeting, which had the Minister of Labour and Employment, Mohammed Dingyadi, as well as the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkiruka Onyejeocha, in attendance, lasted for about nine hours into the early hours of Tuesday.
Following the stalemate, Dingyadi said the meeting would reconvene to resolve the deadlock at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
Members of PENGASSAN, led by the President, Festus Osifo, and some members of the Dangote refinery management, attended the meeting at the conference room of the Minister of Labour and Employment.
The union and the private refinery are at loggerheads over unresolved labour issues.
Members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) on Monday barricaded the premises of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) in Abuja in compliance with the directives from its national executive committee for a nationwide industrial action.
The aggrieved union members are protesting the alleged illegal sacking of over 800 Nigerian workers by the management of the Dangote refinery.
The aggrieved union members are protesting the alleged illegal sacking of over 800 Nigerian workers by the management of the Dangote refinery.
Our correspondent on the ground at the scene of the protest spotted the union members singing solidarity songs while gathering at the NNPCL office and those of the oil and gas regulators.
The union members blocked the gate into the premises, just as their colleagues at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) also blocked the entrance into their premises.
The situation was the same at the headquarters of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
The union accused the refinery of violating Nigeria’s labour laws, the Constitution, and International Labour Organisation conventions by dismissing workers for joining the association.
But the Dangote Petroleum Refinery last week said that the recent reorganisation in the company, which led to the sacking of some workers, was aimed at preventing intermittent cases of sabotage.
It also refuted claims that the exercise was arbitrary, adding that it was carried out to address safety concerns and boost operational efficiency.