Groups drag company before FG over entitlements

Members of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) at ARCO Group Plc have dragged the company and an American oil company before the Ministry of Labour and Employment over failure to pay 60 per cent of their terminal entitlements.

Chairman of PENGASSAN at ARCO, Amadike Clinton, said ARCO paid field workers 100 per cent of their entitlements, but paid only 40 per cent to other categories of staff when their employments were terminated.

Clinton said ARCO claimed that it could not complete the payment because the American company, General Electric, deducted 10 per cent withholding tax from workers earnings and paid the sum, which runs into millions of dollars, to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) instead of five per cent between 2005 and 2015. The American company at the time had a contract with ARCO, a Nigerian company, for the supply of indigenous personnel.

He further said, “This means that there is a partial settlement. FIRS has not denied collecting 10 per cent withholding tax from GE, but GE has to initiate the process of refund by writing a letter to FIRS stating the amount involved and paying to ARCO when the fund is released. The only problem is if FIRS cannot reconcile fund paid by GE.

“As union leaders, we agree with the commitment made by FIRS and GE. We are optimistic that the remaining 60 per cent would be paid to the workers.”

Representatives of ARCO, PENGASSAN, NUPENG, FIRS and those of the labour ministry met behind closed doors in Abuja where a truce was brokered. While Clinton led the PENGASSAN delegation to the meeting, Kingsley Okara led the NUPENG members.

Our reporter learnt that the Director of Trade Unions at the ministry presided over the meeting. A ministry source, who preferred anonymity, said all the parties were given one month to resolve the issue and begin payment to the aggrieved workers.

The source said, “The ministry is not a debt collection agency. It came into the matter because ARCO accepted its financial obligation for the settlement of salaries and union dues. The company said the only way it could complete the payment was if GE made a refund to it.

“We gave them three weeks to begin the process of refund for those monies that they have an understanding that there were actually over-payment to FIRS. If there is no contention on that, within one week, GE should initiate the process of refund.

“FIRS said they had to go through some processes before they could get cash back to pay. For those that there are contentions, let them try to get their books together and reach an agreement within two weeks. The unions involved said they have the list of what is due to their members that has not been paid by ARCO. We expect that those reconciliations will be completed and payment will be made.”