The National President of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, Festus Osifo, says the abuse of Nigerian labour laws by indigenous oil and gas companies will soon degenerate into an industrial crisis in the sector.
Osifo who stated this during the National Executive Council, NEC meeting of PENGASSAN in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital said, more decisive actions will soon be taken against defaulters to serve as deterrent to perpetrators of anti-labour laws.
The leadership of the umbrella body of the upper and middle level employees in the petroleum and gas industry has frowned at the continuous abuse of the Nigerian labour laws on its members by indigenous oil and gas companies, noting that the deprivation of the rights of members from being unionised was not only a violation of their fundamental human rights as enshrined in all laws and statuses which the country was signatory to but also preventing the entrenchment of better working conditions and protection of the workforce.
Osifo while speaking on the nightmares Nigerians are currently going through following the fuel subsidy removal , charged the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government
to take decisive actions
to encourage the local refining of crude oil..
PENGASSAN President, while speaking on the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA, noted that It was quite worrisome that most companies have not started
remitting the 3% of previous years’ operating expenditure to the host communities fund as mandated by
law.
The PENGASSAN NEC meeting was meant to address various issues concerning anti-labour practices, the welfare of workers and other challenges confronting its members.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
