The federal government has brokered a truce between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery, resulting in the suspension of the union’s strike and the redeployment of disengaged workers.
The agreement followed high-level reconciliatory meetings convened by Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, after PENGASSAN ordered its members to halt gas supply and withdraw services from the refinery over the alleged unlawful termination of more than 800 workers.
In a communique signed by all parties, Dingyadi affirmed that unionisation is a right guaranteed under Nigerian law and must be respected. After reviewing the circumstances surrounding the disengagement, the meeting resolved that affected staff would be redeployed to other companies within the Dangote Group without loss of pay.
“No worker will be victimised arising from their role in the impasse between Dangote and PENGASSAN,” the communique stated, adding that the union had agreed to begin calling off its strike.
Dangote Refinery maintained that the job cuts were linked to an internal reorganisation, while PENGASSAN insisted they were an attack on unionised workers. Both sides, however, agreed to the government-brokered compromise.
The conciliation was attended by senior government officials, including the National Security Adviser, the Ministers of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, and State for Labour, as well as the heads of the Department of State Services (DSS), the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
Representatives of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), and PENGASSAN’s national leadership also participated.
