The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has directed its members to mobilise in support of the nationwide strike declared by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, against Dangote Refinery.
The NLC issued the directive through a circular signed by Comrade Joe Ajaero on Monday in Abuja.
The congress instructed its affiliates and members across the country to immediately mobilise for what it described as a “full-scale, decisive engagement” against the conglomerate’s alleged anti-worker practices.
“You are requested to commence, with immediate effect, preparation for a vigorous and comprehensive unionisation of all workers within every Dangote Group facility falling under your jurisdiction,” the memo read.
The NLC said PENGASSAN and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, were merely symptoms of a deeper malaise, a capitalist pathology of union-busting, worker enslavement, and gross impunity that defines the group’s industrial relations strategy.
It alleged that the Dangote Refinery is not a workplace but a plantation of exploitation where workers’ dignity is crushed.
The union further stated that Dangote Refinery is “a state within a state”, alleging that the company has repeatedly violated Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution, flouted International Labour Organisation, ILO, Conventions 87 and 98, and treated national labour laws with “utter disdain.
“Their facilities are not workplaces but plantations of exploitation, where the dignity of the worker is systematically crushed to maximise profit for the few,” it added.
The development comes amid ongoing talks between PENGASSAN and Dangote Refinery to resolve the strike.
At the weekend, PENGASSAN declared industrial action, directing its members to cut gas and crude oil supplies to the refinery.
However, the Minister of Labour and Employment said on Monday that a resolution to the dispute must be reached for the good of Nigerians, the union, and the refinery.
