The Federal Government has announced a resolution to the industrial dispute between the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, following two days of high-level conciliation meetings.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi, disclosed the outcome in a statement released in Abuja on Wednesday, noting that both parties agreed to the resolutions in good faith.
According to him, the discussions addressed the contentious issues that had led to the strike.
“The Honourable Minister of Labour informed the meeting that unionisation is a right of workers in accordance with the laws of Nigeria, and this right should be respected,” the statement read.
He added, “After examining the procedure used in the disengagement of workers, the meeting agreed that the management of Dangote Group shall immediately begin the process of redeploying the disengaged staff to other companies within the Dangote Group, with no loss of pay. No worker will be victimised arising from their role in the impasse between Dangote and PENGASSAN.”
The minister further confirmed that PENGASSAN had agreed to initiate the process of suspending its strike.
“Both parties agreed to this understanding in good faith,” Dingyadi stressed.
The government delegation at the talks included the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu; Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha; the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Adeola Ajayi; and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed.
The peace deal followed a breakdown in earlier negotiations on Monday, which ended in deadlock after hours of deliberation. Talks resumed on Tuesday at the Office of the National Security Adviser and stretched into the early hours of Wednesday before a compromise was reached.
The rift stemmed from allegations by PENGASSAN that the refinery had carried out mass transfers and dismissals of union members, while allegedly replacing some Nigerians with foreign workers. The management, however, denied the claims, insisting that the restructuring was an operational decision.
The Federal Government waded in, citing concerns about potential threats to the economy and national energy security.
