The nationwide strike called by the
United Labour Congress of Nigeria commenced on Monday and led to the
shutdown of fuel depots in Apapa, Lagos and other parts of the country,
threatening the supply of petroleum products to filling stations...
One of our correspondents gathered that
oil workers under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and
Natural Gas Workers were partaking in the strike.
The Executive Secretary, Depot and
Petroleum Products Marketers Association, Mr. Olufemi Adewole, said, “We
got to our offices and we saw that they (NUPENG members) were not
working.”
He said the shutdown of the depots would affect the supply of petroleum products once the stock in filling stations dried up.
“We hope the Federal Government will call them and speak to them so that the problem can be resolved speedily,” he added.
Adewole noted that prior to the
commencement of the strike, some of the association’s members were not
loading petroleum products because of the debts owed them by the
government.
He said, “So many of them have been
driven out of business; we are hoping that the government will pay us so
that we can start working. If there is no money to trade and the
workers are not working, definitely they cannot be paid.
“We will have to lay them off instead of
retaining them and incur debts every month until the government pays us
so that we can come back to business.”
An official of an independent marketing
company in Lagos stated that if the strike continued till Thursday,
there would be scarcity of products as many filling stations would begin
to run out of fuel stock.
“No depot is working now. The ULC set up
surveillance teams who are parading all the depots to see if anyone is
working,” he added.
The South-West Chairman of NUPENG,
Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo, said, “We are part of the ULC and we are on
strike since morning. There is no loading at depots nationwide. We voted
the government into power and let us join hands together to talk to
them when it is appropriate.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has
invited the executive of NUPENG workers to a conciliatory meeting, which
is expected to hold today (Tuesday).
According to a statement on Monday by
the Deputy Director of Press, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Samuel
Olowookere, the meeting is at the instance of the Minister of Labour and
Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige.
“Towards apprehending the ongoing
industrial action embarked upon by the NUPENG workers, the minister has
scheduled a crucial conciliatory meeting with the president and
executive of NUPENG on Tuesday,” the statement read in part.
The Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation asked members of the public not to engage in panic buying of
products, adding that it had more than 1.6 billion litres of Premium
Motor Spirit in stock, enough to last for 48 days.
It also said it had in stock sufficient
quantities of Automotive Gas Oil or diesel, Dual Purpose Kerosene and
Aviation Turbine Kerosene to serve the country.
The Group General Manager, Group Public
Affairs Division, NNPC, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, said in a telephone interview
with one of our correspondents, “The government is consulting the union
and the NNPC is also consulting the union on the strike issue.”
He added that the government was working
hard to arrive at an amicable resolution of outstanding issues with the
concerned industry unions.
The ULC had said it hoped to cripple all
modes of transportation within the nation, cause total blackout
nationwide, cut-off petroleum products supplies, and disrupt banking
operations.
Its demands comprise the ban on the
stationing of the soldiers and policemen in its members’ workplaces and
factory premises; establishment of a task force by the Federal Ministry
of Labour to carry out factory inspections; immediate review of the
privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria; and immediate
payment of all the arrears of salaries owed workers at all levels of
government.
The ULC President, Joe Ajaero, while
assessing the impact of the strike on Monday, said, “We urge all
Nigerians to bear with us as this is a necessary sacrifice we all must
make to assist those in government to be more responsible and responsive
to the demands of Nigerian workers and masses.
“We urge the patriots, who are working
behind the scene to get the matter resolved, to put pressure on the
Federal Government to listen to Nigerian workers and the masses, whom it
claims to lead. That is the only way we can get this matter amicably
resolved.”
The ULC issued the strike notice
following the government’s failure to recognise the body as a labour
federation despite allegedly fulfilling all conditions stipulated by
law.
According to it, the failure of the
government to recognise the group violates the constitution of Nigeria,
which guarantees freedom of association, as well as the Trade Union Act.
According to Ajaero, the affiliates of
the ULC that joined the strike on Monday are the National Union of
Electricity Employees; Academic Staff Union of Research Institutes;
National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees;
NUPENG and Nigerian Union of Railway Workers; National Union of Lottery
Agents and Employees, among others.
However, aviation unions affiliated to the ULC shunned directives to shut down the Nigerian airspace.
The unions are the Association of
Nigerian Aviation Professionals; Aeronautical Information Services
Association of Nigeria; and the National Association of Air Traffic
Engineers.
Normal flight operations by airlines
were observed at both the international and domestic wings of the
Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.
The General Secretary, NUR, Mr. Segun
Esan, said, “Not all railway workers might have joined the strike on
Monday, but as the days go by, there would be full participation and
compliance.”
However, normal operations took place in
banking halls across the country despite the claim that NUBIFIE had
joined the strike, while normal train services operated in Lagos and
other major cities.
Meanwhile, the President of the Nigeria
Labour Congress, Ayuba Wabba, and his counterpart at the Trade Union
Congress, Bobboi Kaigama, described the ULC as an illegal body.
In a statement jointly signed by Wabba
and Kaigama, they said that the Federal Ministry of Labour and
Employment had acted within the confines of the law by not registering
the ULC and the affiliates it put forward.
They said, “No unregistered organisations or individuals can hold our dear country to ransom.
“We urge the Federal Ministry of Labour
and workers to discountenance the threats of this illegal association.
The ministry must be steadfast in upholding the laws governing trade
union practice in the country.
“Finally, our colleagues are still
members of the labour family, in unity lies our strength. We once again
extend our hands of comradeship and urge them to return to the fold.”
No comments: