- Safiu Kehinde
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has threatened legal action against Dangote Refinery over the sacking of 800 staff with alleged plot to replace them with 2,000 Indian workers.
PENGASSAN made this known in a statement issued on Saturday by its General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa.
According to reports, Dangote had allegedly sacked the workers over membership with PENGASSAN.
However, the refinery in a statement issued on Friday clarified that the workers were sacked over what it described as “repeated acts of sabotage that have raised safety concerns and affected operational efficiency”.
It maintained that the over 3,000 Nigerians are still actively working the refinery, at present, stressing that only a very small number of staff were affected.
Reacting, PENGASSAN in the statement held that the dismissal of the workers raised concern about the integrity of labour practices and compliance with the Labour Act of Nigeria.
The association noted that the dismissal of the workers violated the legal rights granted to all employees in Nigeria.
This, according to PENGASSAN illustrates a troubling trend towards marginalisation of Nigerian workers.
It demanded the immediate reinstatement of the sacked workers, warning that failure to comply will lead to legal action against Dangote Refinery.
While reaffirming its commitment to the upholding of Nigerian workers’ rights, PENGASSAN disclosed that it had scheduled an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting over the development.
