The Federal Government has brokered peace in the conflict between the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, after two days of conciliation meetings.
Dr. Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi, Minister of Labour and Employment, issued a statement in the early hours of Wednesday revealing that the issue had been settled after protracted consultations.
According to the release, the resolutions reached were, “The Honourable Minister of Labour informed the meeting that unionization is a right of workers in accordance with the laws of Nigeria, and this right should be respected.
“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 victimized arising from their role in the impasse between Dangote and PENGASSAN.
“PENGASSAN agreed to start the process of calling off the strike. Both parties agreed to this understanding in good faith.”
The government delegation at the meeting included the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Dingyadi; 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, Barr. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha; Director-General of the DSS, Adeola Ajayi; and the Director-General of the NIA, Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed.
Monday’s meeting between PENGASSAN and Dangote Refinery management on the industrial dispute resulted in a standstill.
The session, which began about 4 p.m., continued into the early hours of Tuesday without resolution.
Following the impasse, Dingyadi declared that the negotiations would resume by 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
The follow-up discussion, which began about 3:50 p.m. in the Office of the National Security Adviser, went until the early hours of Wednesday, when the breakthrough was finally made.
PENGASSAN accused the Dangote Refinery of mass transfers and sackings of union members, as well as replacing certain Nigerians with foreign nationals, which the business continually disputed.
The federal government interfered due to concerns about the dispute’s influence on the country’s economy and energy security.
