The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has threatened nationwide strike if some industrial issues especially anti-labour practices by some employers in the oil and gas industry were not addressed within 21 days.

The senior staff trade union issued the ultimatum after its Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting in Abuja last Wednesday.

According to a statement signed by the PENGASSAN National Public Relations Officer, Fortune Obi, the 21-day ultimatum to stakeholders in the oil and gas industry, was necessary due to persistent anti-labour practices by the management of some companies in the sector.

The association therefore called on the relevant stakeholders to address issues of concern affecting its members within the stipulated days to avert the consequences of its next line of action.

“PENGASSAN in the last three years has not only been excessively stretched but equally unnecessarily over-burdened and is fast running out of patience over the loss of will by various managements to attend to industrial/welfare issues.

“Particularly frustrating is the sustained, deliberate and indiscriminate redundancies, sack, casualisation, ill-treatment, adverse work condition, incessant disagreement to collective bargain resolutions and other anti-labour practices against our members by these managements without recourse to extant labour laws,” Obi said.

The PENGASSAN identified in particular the provocative stance of managements of the Fugro, Sterling Global, Indorama Petrochemical Company, Baker Hughes/General Electric, Universal Energy, Frontier Energy, Vam Onne, Neconde Energy and ObiJackson Group, SDF, Ciscon, Tecon, Obax, Pan Ocean, NNPC Retail Limited, Exxon-Mobil and Petrobras.

To this end, the PENGASSAN spokesperson said that the Association has directed the Zonal Executive Councils, in the four zones of Port Harcourt, Lagos, Kaduna and Warri, to commence systematic mobilisation of its members for the planned action. (Daily Trust)

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