Oil workers under the aegis of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) are set to proceed on strike today.
The strike, the oil workers said, would shut down all operations and activities in the country’s oil and gas industry.
PENGASSAN’s leadership said yesterday that a memo on the impending industrial action had been sent to all chairmen and secretaries in the four zonesand branches of the union.
The union said its members had met in all the zones to fine-tune the strategies and modalities for the strike on Tuesday, followed by a meeting by key officers yesterday, adding that a gradual method of shutdown was critically examined and adopted by the members.
“The action, which will cripple all activities and operations in the oil and gas sector, will affect all the sub sectors as our members in the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Petroleum Equalisation Fund (Monitoring Board) PEF (MB), Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), oil majors, labour and contract services companies, and petroleum products marketing companies will join in the action.
“We strongly appeal for understanding of all Nigerians and operators that will be impacted by the action. The industrial action is critical to the survival of the oil and gas industry, which currently is the mainstay of the nation’s economy,” PENGASSAN said in a statement made available to newsmen yesterday, signed by its national public relations officer, Comrade Emmanuel Ojugbana.
Meanwhile, the minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige, and the minister of state, Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, will today hold a crucial meeting with PENGASSAN and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) to find a lasting solution to the lingering problems in theoil and gas sector.
According to a statement by the deputy director (Press) in the Ministry of Labour, Samuel Olowookere, the meeting will be held at the NNPC Towers.
It was gathered that the meeting was scheduled to seek the support of the oil workers on new reforms being introduced by the government.
A source who confirmed the meeting said, “I got the invitation for tomorrow’s meeting. What we want is inthe best interest of the sector.”
The meeting is scheduled for today (Thursday) at Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Minister’s Board Room, 11th Floor, NNPC Towers, Abuja, at 10am.
Source: Leadership
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