NUPENG, PENGASSAN Oil Abandon Proposed Warning Strike

The Joint Action Committee of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have agreed to suspend the planned warning strike, based on a communique signed at the end of a meeting with Minister of Labour, Chief Emeka Wogu.

But the oil workers threatened to instead embark on indefinite nationwide strike if the management of the Onne Oil and Gas Free Trade Zone (OGFTZ) fails to comply with the agreements reached at the tripartite meeting.

According to Chika Onuegbu, the chairman of NUPENG and PENGASSAN Joint Action Committee who issued the threat notice, the parties will hold a follow-up meeting on Saturday.

“We have done this with the hope that the Federal Government and the authorities of the Onne Oil and Gas Free Trade Zone will honour the agreement and communiqué,” he said of the suspended strike.

“We will monitor on a monthly basis progress of implementation of the communique. We want to state clearly that if we notice any insincerity on the part of the Federal Government or the authorities of the OGFTZ or the investors, we shall commence an indefinite national strike that will include shutting down oil and gas production and export activities without any notice.”