Talks between representatives of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the leadership of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers dragged on for several hours late on the night of Monday despite the role played by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Productivity for reconciliation.
This came as officials of NUPENG paralysed fuel loading activities across petroleum depots nationwide on Monday as they kicked against Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s alleged ban on workers’ unionism.
The meeting, involving all the parties, which was held at the conference room of the Ministry of Labour, lasted for several hours despite plans for both parties to immediately sign a Memorandum of Understanding to put an immediate end to the ongoing conflict.
The meeting had in attendance the national executives of NUPENG and officials of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress. Also present was the Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Ogbugo Ukoha, as well as representatives of the Dangote Group and MRS Petroleum.
The meeting was co-chaired by the Minister of Labour, Muhammed Dingyadi, and the Minister of State for Labour, Nkeiru Onyejeocha. The meeting, which was earlier scheduled to start by 10:00 am on Monday, suffered a setback and did not start until some minutes past 5 pm due to the late arrival of union officials.
It gathered that following the intermediary role played by the labour ministry, resolutions of the Memorandum of Understanding were read for all parties to agree upon and sign.
However, disagreements with some of the resolutions by officials of the Dangote Group led to further talks. As of 10:15 pm on Monday, parties continued talks in a bid to find a lasting solution to the crisis.
Recall that petroleum tanker drivers on Monday made real their threat to shun fuel loading due to the crisis between them and the Dangote refinery as a result of the unionisation of tanker drivers. This was despite an appeal by the Federal Government that they shelve the plan.
In some parts of the country, filling stations were also closed by NUPENG members. The Aradel refinery in Obele, Port Harcourt, was shut. The Kwale Hydrocarbon facility in Delta State was shut.
NUPENG had on Friday declared its intention to stop loading fuel this week over allegations that the Dangote refinery planned to ban the drivers recruited for its 4,000 trucks from joining the union. NUPENG President, Williams Akporeha, on Sunday confirmed that the Federal Government had reached out to the union on the need to avert the strike. He, however, insisted that the industrial action would go ahead.
It was gathered as of Monday morning, there was full compliance with the directive that no driver should lift fuel. Checks by one of our correspondents confirmed that activities at petroleum depots were paralysed across the country. NUPENG officials visited the depots to enforce compliance.
In various depots across the country, especially those in Lagos and Warri, Delta State, drivers parked their trucks to wait for the next directive as far as fuel lifting was concerned. Our correspondent reports that NUPENG officials shut down some depots to prevent the movement of trucks. The National President of NUPENG, Williams Akporeha, told our correspondent that there was “100 per cent compliance across the nation.”
Some members of the union accused Dangote and MRS of having plans to take over their jobs with the recruitment of new drivers.
