Oil workers, under the aegis of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), have threatened to shut down the nation’s oil and gas industry should NOV Oil management sack any of its members.
The threat is coming following the fine of $250,000 slammed on the National Oilwell Varco (NOV) recently by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) over anti-labour practices by the company.
The union is calling on the nation’s oil and gas regulator to impose further sanctions on NOV Oil should it continues to disobey Nigeria Labour laws and regulations.
The PENGASSAN Lagos Zonal Chairman, Comrade Eyam Abeng, stated this while responding to issues of anti-labour practices by NOV Oil.
He noted that NOV Oil management has the characteristic of sacking its workers without due process.
It was gathered that the fine was imposed on the International Oil Company (IOC) for sacking 23 Nigerian employees without recourse to due process in March 2020.
It was also alleged that NOV Oil had been flouting the directive by the DPR in 2014 and 2015 to put in place a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) before embarking on redundancy.
The industry regulator has reiterated its position to frown and sanction any oil and gas company that refuses to comply with its directive as well as provisions in Article 15a of DPR regulations and 20 of Nigerian Labour law.
The PENGASSAN’s leader in a statement by one of the association’s media spokesperson, Babatunde Oke, demanded the reinstatement of the 23 workers sacked without procedures.
He alleged that one Mr Cesar Velasco, Vice President, Well Site Services, usually misguided the company in taking decisions regarding labour matters.
He said: “They are in the habit of not respecting the laws of the land as regards labour practices.
“We are aware of what the company did in other countries, such as Angola, Congo, Ghana and Cameroon, among others. How the company started with over 100 workers and later reduced them to 4 or 5.”
“This is what National Oilwell Varco (NOV ) wants to do in Nigeria. It wants to offshore jobs that can be done by Nigerians and which we have competent Nigerians to other countries like South Africa,” he added.
Abeng said the company must put in place a CBA before going ahead with its redundancy plan, adding that “Nigerians should be adequately compensated if the redundancy will impact on them.
He said PENGASSAN is ready to go all out to “fight for the right of its members and ensure their job security.”
National Oilwell Varco is an international oil and gas services company with headquarters in Texas, United States of America (USA) and has operations in over 20 countries.
The company participated in the famous Egina project and cashed into its cover over $270 million.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state…PENGASSAN threatens to shut PENGASSAN threatens to shut
Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train
The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…PENGASSAN threatens to shut PENGASSAN threatens to shut