Job displacement: PENGASSAN demands sack, repatriation of 10,000 Indians in Sterling Oil

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has called for the immediate dismissal and repatriation of over 10,000 Indian workers allegedly engaged in menial jobs meant for Nigerians at Sterling Oil Company.

PENGASSAN accused the Indian-owned oil company of violating Nigeria’s expatriate quota regulations by employing foreign workers in non-expatriate roles, thereby denying job opportunities to many unemployed Nigerians.

Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, PENGASSAN’s National President, Comrade Festus Osifo, warned that if the management of Sterling Oil and the relevant federal authorities fail to act promptly, the union will embark on a nationwide industrial action.

He emphasised that the union would not tolerate the continued disregard for labour laws and the displacement of Nigerian workers in their own country.

He said: “We have consistently observed over time that they have been bringing in all manner of people to work in Nigeria in contravention of our laws and in violation of our regulations.

“If other companies, the IOCs, the indigenous producers are all complying with our laws, they are all complying with our regulations, Sterling cannot be an exception. Sterling management cannot be bigger than Nigeria.

“As of today, we have over 10,000 Indians working in Sterling. The majority of these people are doing middle- and low-level jobs that Nigerians should do. Today, we have Nigerians littering the streets; these are the jobs that they should be doing, but instead, we have Indians doing these jobs.

“Our demand is very clear: all expatriates doing Nigerian jobs must go. All of them must go back to their homes, and Sterling Oil must immediately employ Nigerians to do those jobs. In other countries, they would even shut down your production entirely until you do what is right.

“If the government previously claimed they were unaware of what is happening, we have now brought it to the fore. The Minister of Interior has responded. NCDMB has responded. Today, NUPRC is inviting us for a meeting. Sterling must do what is right. We are dedicated, we believe in this struggle, and we will see it through to the end.”

On the strike threat, Osifo said: “If nothing is done, we will declare a national strike. Remember, in the upstream operation of the oil and gas industry, those manning the operations—90% of them are our members.

“By the time we withdraw our members from the upstream, the entire upstream will be grounded. So, the government should choose between standing with Nigerians and enforcing Nigerian laws, or standing with Indians and Sterling.

“We have evidence, we have facts regarding what they perpetrate and what they do in Nigeria.

“It is not our function to go out and look for people; that is what gives them the audacity. It is our function to push them to do what is right. It is our responsibility to hold them accountable.”

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