DANGOTE REFINERY: TUC DEMANDS APOLOGY, REINSTATEMENT OF SACKED WORKERS
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By Sunmisola Shodayo
The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria has urged the administration of the Dangote Petrochemical Refinery to publicly express remorse and reinstate over 800 employees who were terminated due to a unionization disagreement.
In remarks made on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, TUC Secretary-General Nuhu Toro stated that the refinery contravened the constitutional rights of the dismissed workers.
“The Dangote and PENGASSAN rift concerns the TUC because PENGASSAN is an affiliate of the TUC, and there is no way they can beat your child, and the father stays aloof.
“Even the last meeting that was held on the 8th of September at the Ministry of Labour office, both PENGASSAN and the TUC were represented.
“We demand the reversal of the arbitrary dismissal of over 800 workers by Dangote. If that is done, the next thing that we demand is a public apology from the Dangote Refinery Management, with an assurance that such won’t be used against the union in the future,” he stated.
His remarks followed a nationwide strike initiated by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, which disrupted operations at significant oil and gas regulatory bodies on Monday.
The industrial action was prompted by a directive issued over the weekend in a resolution signed by PENGASSAN General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, in which the union accused the Dangote refinery of infringing upon Nigerian labor laws and International Labour Organization conventions by terminating staff for engaging with the union.
In reaction, Dangote refuted the claims, asserting that employees were dismissed en masse and accused the union of sabotage.
However, Toro emphasized that the primary issue concerns the workers’ right to affiliate with the union of their choosing, a concern he criticized the management for neglecting.
“In some of the commentaries flying around, Dangote has refused to address the substantial matter here, which is the violation of workers’ right to belong to any union of their choice.
“What Dangote simply did was to give us a bad name. The first thing he did was to violate the agreement we both signed, arising from the previous intervention, that no worker was going to be victimised.
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“Unionisation is a right, and workers in Dangote have the right to belong to a union of their choice. In these circumstances, the workers have indicated that they want to belong to PENGASSAN, and they signed our forms.
“For Dangote to react, he has to hide under the guise of sabotage, which is debatable in my opinion, because by the time you say sabotage, you must be able to substantiate and provide evidence of who who are sabotaging,” remarked Toro.
He stated that both PENGASSAN and the TUC attended the meeting on September 8 at the Ministry of Labour but accused refinery management of evading the “key issue” and violating a prior agreement that no employee would be victimized.
He described the terminations as “oppression” and alleged that Nigerian staff were being treated less favorably than Indian expatriates employed by the refinery.
“Even more disturbing is the monopoly and double standard of Dangote, who enjoys massive state support, protection, and a lot of goodwill from this government. The same organisation turns around to deny Nigerians of their fundamental rights, while extending preferential treatment to expatriates, the Indians who we all know work within the same organisation.
“This is nothing but a show of economic oppression in modern-day slavery, and this is not acceptable to the TUC and even PENGASSAN,” the TUC secretary general stated.
“Dangote should allow the workers to belong to the union of their choice. He should respect the rights of the over 800 workers and reinstate them; the unions are also ready to shift grounds in the interest of Nigerians.
“Don’t forget that we are also Nigerians, and nobody in Nigeria is more patriotic than the workers who toil to create the wealth that is used to develop this nation.
“So when I listen to commentaries about the free trade zones and people not being patriotic, it is laughable. Onne is a free trade zone, and workers in ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies in Onne are members of unions,” Toro added.
The TUC leader defended the patriotism of union members and cautioned against what he termed “slave labor” practices, emphasizing that union rights are safeguarded by law.
He also recalled that organized labor had previously extended support to the refinery during its initial challenges.
Toro urged Dangote to respect workers’ rights, reinstate the terminated employees, and assure that dismissals would not be employed to intimidate union activities.
He stated that unions were willing to compromise “in the interest of Nigerians” but would strongly oppose any efforts to infringe upon workers’ fundamental rights.
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