According to The PUNCH, the meeting which was earlier slated for 10:00 am started around 5:30 pm due to the delay in the arrivals of NUPENG officials.
The meeting currently ongoing at the conference room of the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Productivity is aimed at stopping the nationwide industrial strike before it inflicts significant damage on the fragile economy.
Recall that NUPENG had accused Dangote and associates of pursuing “crude and dangerous anti-union practices, a monopolistic agenda, and indecent industrial relations strategies,” alleging the refinery pays some of the lowest wages in the sector and bars drivers for imported CNG trucks from joining industry unions.
The union says those recruitment conditions violate Section 40 of the Constitution, the Labour Act and International Labour Organisation conventions on freedom of association.
Meanwhile, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has thrown its weight behind the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) in the push for unionisation of tanker drivers and other employees at the Dangote Refinery.
The senior staff union warned that it could shut down refinery operations if the lingering dispute over workers’ rights to join unions is not resolved.
Naija News reports that NUPENG had earlier announced plans to halt loading of petroleum products from Monday, alleging that the Dangote Refinery intended to bar newly recruited drivers of its 4,000 trucks from joining the union.
The move, the union said, was necessary to resist what it described as attempts to deny workers their constitutional right to organise.
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