The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers has warned that no democracy can truly thrive when workers’ voices are suppressed, describing any effort to undermine trade union rights in the nation’s oil and gas sector as unconstitutional and unacceptable.
The union made this position known in a memorandum presented to the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) during the Annual Downstream Petroleum Week Conference at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja.
Speaking on behalf of the union, NUPENG’s General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, reminded lawmakers that Nigeria’s democracy was partly won through the sacrifices and struggles of organized labour, particularly NUPENG and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria during the fight against military dictatorship.
He urged the legislature to uphold the same democratic ideals that workers once fought to restore, insisting that the protection of workers’ rights must remain central to democratic governance.
“Let it not be forgotten that NUPENG and PENGASSAN played a historic role in restoring Nigeria’s democracy. That same democratic spirit must now protect the rights of workers who keep the nation’s energy sector alive,” the union told the lawmakers.
NUPENG expressed particular concern over what it termed a growing anti-union sentiment at the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company, citing the refinery’s recent stance that no trade union would be permitted to organize newly hired drivers for its Compressed Natural Gas-powered trucks.
The union said the policy contravenes Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and violates international labour conventions ratified by Nigeria, particularly ILO Conventions 87 and 98, which guarantee workers’ rights to freely associate and bargain collectively.
“We commend Alhaji Aliko Dangote for his patriotic investment in the refinery. But we strongly reject any attempt to prohibit unionization. No business, no matter how strategic, can operate outside the bounds of the law,” NUPENG declared.
It further questioned the implications for thousands of long-serving truck drivers and existing NUPENG members, warning that the ongoing energy transition must not be used as a pretext to sideline workers.
“What would happen to thousands of existing truck drivers and NUPENG members who have served the industry for decades, warning that energy transition must not become an excuse for excluding workers from the benefits of industrial growth. Energy transition must promote fairness and inclusive growth. It cannot and must not exclude workers,” the statement stressed.
The union also appealed to the National Assembly to repeal the Petroleum Production and Distribution (Anti-Sabotage) Act, describing it as a “draconian” law that criminalizes legitimate labour actions and undermines the right to peaceful protest.
NUPENG stated, “the continued existence of such laws undermines industrial democracy and creates an atmosphere of fear among workers in a supposedly democratic society. Retaining this Act is dangerous to democracy. It treats peaceful protest and strike action as sabotage and must therefore be abrogated.”
In its submission, the union demanded the formal recognition of NUPENG and PENGASSAN as the only statutory unions representing junior and senior workers in the oil and gas sector, adding that such recognition should be a prerequisite for the issuance of operational licenses to companies within the industry.
It also urged the National Assembly to strengthen laws protecting workers’ rights as provided in the 1999 Constitution, the Trade Unions Act, and key judicial precedents such as Nestoil PLC v. NUPENG (2012) and Executive Chairman, SUBEB v. NASU (2021), both of which affirmed that union recognition is automatic unless a worker formally opts out.
Furthermore, NUPENG called on the federal government and legislators to fully implement the International Labour Organization’s Decent Work Agenda, mandating all employers and contractors in the oil and gas industry to uphold collective bargaining rights, fair wages, social security, and safe working conditions.
“Compliance with these standards must be a precondition for the operation of any company within Nigeria’s oil and gas industry,” the union emphasised.
Reaffirming its commitment to defending the interests of Nigerian workers, NUPENG declared that democracy without social justice and labour freedom is meaningless.
It stressed, “You cannot silence labour in a democracy. Our voices are the conscience of the nation, and we will continue to speak for fairness, equity, and justice in the oil and gas sector.”
