From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
Efforts by the Federal Government to resolve the dispute between Dangote Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) hit a brick wall on Monday night, as a marathon meeting ended without agreement over the alleged mass sack of union members.
The meeting, which began at about 3:50 p.m. at the Conference Hall of the Ministry of Labour and Employment in Abuja, stretched into the early hours of Tuesday but ended shortly after midnight without any resolution.
Talks are, however, expected to reconvene today, Tuesday, September 30, at 2:00 p.m.
The Federal Government had summoned both parties to the negotiating table over growing concerns that the industrial dispute could negatively affect the economy and Nigeria’s energy security.
PENGASSAN had accused Dangote Refinery of unlawfully terminating the appointments of over 800 workers, most of whom are union members, and replacing some of them with expatriates. Claims that the Dangote Group has since denied.
Present at the meeting were the Minister of Labour and Employment, Mohammad Dingyadi, who led the government delegation, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, senior officials of Dangote Refinery, PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, and the General Secretary of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Nuhu Toro.
Despite the high-level presence and the long hours of deliberation, no common ground was reached.
Dingyadi, while speaking to journalists after the deliberations, said both parties had agreed to reconvene later on Tuesday to continue discussions.
He expressed optimism that progress had been made and that the major issue under discussion was the alleged dismissal of the workers.
“We have agreed to reconvene in the afternoon. It seems a lot has been agreed upon. That is the only issue we are on (the issue of sack of workers). Apart from that, there is nothing else. I think we have made a lot of progress, and we do hope by tomorrow we should be able to resolve the issue,” Dingyadi stated.
The Minister further explained that the matter of unionisation was also a key part of the ongoing discussions. When asked about the government’s official position, he said no final stance had been taken as discussions were still ongoing.
On his part, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy emphasised the importance of resolving the matter promptly to prevent economic disruption.
Edun noted that all stakeholders must work together to preserve the country’s economic momentum.
“What is of utmost importance in the minds of everybody, the public, the government, the investors, and economic actors generally, is that we need to limit the damage to the economy of this action.
“We need to wrap it up, resolve it, and get workers back to work. We don’t want the momentum of growth to be broken. That’s why you see us here for nine hours trying to resolve just one knotty issue,” he said.
On his part, the PENGASSAN President expressed disappointment that no resolution had been reached despite the lengthy engagement.
Osifo insisted the union’s position remains unchanged, noting that all affected workers must be reinstated before the strike can be called off.
“We have been here for about nine hours trying to find solutions. Unfortunately, there is no solution tonight. We have over 800 people that are at home; fathers and mothers whose careers are now at stake. When you terminate people and tag them as saboteurs, they may never find employment elsewhere.”
The labour leader the union is open to ending the strike immediately if the dismissed workers are reinstated but lamented that the refinery’s management had yet to take that step.
“They agreed they dismissed over 800 people. The reason was stated in the termination letters, and those letters are already with the media. So it cannot be false. Our strike continues until we come back again today to see if a solution can be found,” he added.
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