- The union and government must resolve their dispute without recourse to strike
Rising from the meeting of its Central Working Committee on October 26, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) served a 21-day ultimatum on the Federal Government to either get the oil majors recall over 3,000 workers sacked in the ongoing industry-wide mass sack of workers or face a nationwide industrial action.
The union cited the case of Texaco, said to have wound up its Eastern operations and hence laid off its 1,500 workers; ExxonMobil said to have asked its entire contract staff to go; Pan Ocean, Saipem, Grand Petroleum and Hercules Offshore, all of which have reportedly closed shop.
While accusing the Federal Government of failing to meet its Joint Venture cash call and thus aggravating the crisis in the sector, the union equally lampooned what it called the Buhari administration’s lone-track corruption war which it further claims has left the problems of the larger economy unattended to.
We agree with NUPENG that the situation in the oil industry is dire enough. While the global outlook for crude oil has remained grim in the environment of relatively low prices, part of its inescapable consequence is the cutback in new investments and the shrinking of on-going operations across the board. And, as if the situation is not bad enough for the country, the activities of militants currently threatening to bring the nation’s oil industry to its heels have since thrown the industry into serious spasm, leaving an industry that is at best a ghost of its erstwhile vibrant self.
