THE Federal Government’s effort to avert a looming nationwide strike suffered a setback on Monday as the leadership of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) failed to honour an invitation to a conciliation meeting with the Dangote Group.
News Point Nigeria reports that the meeting, convened by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, was scheduled to hold at 10:00am at the Ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.
It was expected to address the ongoing dispute between NUPENG and the Dangote Group over the union’s insistence that workers at the company’s facilities must be allowed to unionise.
By 2:30pm, however, the session had yet to commence, with NUPENG officials still absent. According to the ministry’s spokesperson, Patience Onuobia, journalists had been formally invited earlier in the day to cover the meeting.
“The Ministry of Labour invites you to cover NUPENG/NLC/Dangote Group conciliation meeting. Venue: Minister’s Conference Room, Federal Secretariat CBD Abuja. Date Monday 8 September, 2024 (today). Time: 10am prompt. The late invitation is regretted,” the statement read.
On Sunday, the Federal Government had appealed to NUPENG to reconsider its decision to embark on an indefinite nationwide strike, urging the union to give room for dialogue. The government also pleaded with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to suspend the red alert it issued to affiliate unions to prepare for solidarity action.
Officials said the government was committed to resolving the labour crisis, but the absence of NUPENG representatives on Monday cast doubt on the prospects of a quick resolution.
The standoff centres on NUPENG’s claim that Dangote Group is pursuing an “anti-union” policy designed to prevent its refinery workers from joining the union. The union argues that the policy undermines workers’ rights and amounts to an attempt to “enslave” employees providing critical services.
NUPENG insists that no oil worker will be allowed to operate within Dangote’s refinery without union membership.
Sources within Labour House told this newspaper that the union’s absence should not come as a surprise, given the government’s “last-minute” intervention.
“That’s not how things are done. The government is not serious about handling critical issues. How can you allow them to declare strike first before looking for a way to resolve it?” one source queried.
Another labour source disclosed that union leaders were still in Lagos as of Monday afternoon, coordinating strategies to enforce the strike.
“Even if they will attend the meeting, not today, because you can’t expect them to fly into Abuja today and still rush to attend a meeting. They have to first settle down, meet the NLC leadership before anything,” the source added.
Meanwhile, our correspondent observed that while journalists waited for the rescheduled NUPENG meeting, Minister Dingyadi was locked in a separate closed-door session with representatives of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).