No agreement signed with Dangote Refinery, strike may resume – PENGASSAN

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has insisted that “no agreement was signed with Dangote Refinery, and strike may resume” despite suspending its recent nationwide industrial action.

The strike, which began on Sunday, was called off on Wednesday following the intervention of the Federal Government. However, PENGASSAN stressed that its grievances were far from resolved.

The union had accused the refinery of illegally terminating the jobs of more than 800 Nigerian workers and allegedly replacing them with over 2,000 foreign employees, mostly Indians.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo cautioned that the suspension of the strike was conditional and temporary.

“There are still grey areas in the communiqué, but we suspended the action in good faith. If Dangote does not do the needful, our tools are always available. We will never get tired of struggling for what is right. We have been around for 50 years before the Dangote Refinery came on stream,” Osifo said.

Speaking further on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday, the union leader clarified: “If you see that communiqué, we did not sign it. Normally, it is supposed to be signed by three parties. We did not sign because we felt that some things in it were not okay with us.”

He stressed that the communiqué was merely a statement issued by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammadu Dingyadi, who chaired the conciliation talks.

“When we subjected it to our NEC, we had to decide on priorities. Some media houses claimed we were only interested in check-off dues. That is false. What we prioritised was how our members would return to work and provide for their families,” he said.

Osifo maintained that PENGASSAN’s position was clear: the refinery must reinstate the sacked workers without delay. He dismissed allegations from Dangote Refinery that the dismissed employees had engaged in sabotage.

“The release that Dangote made on workers sabotaging the economy was totally incorrect. If we had allowed that sabotage tag to stand, those 800 people would not be able to secure jobs in the future. That stigma would remain forever. Clearing that was a very big win. We are not perturbed in any way,” he said.

The union emphasized that its agitation was not about self-interest but about defending the rights of Nigerian workers who were allegedly victimized for belonging to a union.

Reiterating PENGASSAN’s warning, Osifo said: “No agreement was signed with Dangote Refinery, and strike may resume if the resolutions are not honoured.”