NNPC begs oil workers to halt planned strike

The Group Managing Director (GMD) of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, has urged oil workers under the auspices of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) to halt their planned industrial action over a labour dispute involving the management of Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) and its staff.

The appeal by the NNPC boss was contained in a statement on Sunday signed by the corporation’s spokesman, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu.

Mr. Ughamadu said the corporation’s GMD had directed its management to work with other stakeholders to resolve the issue raised by the leadership of the oil industry unions.

The unions had recently called on the National Assembly, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, NNPC and Department of State Services (DSS) to intercede in a brewing impasse between CNL and its staff in Nigeria over the company’s disclosure that the contracts with all its manpower services providers would expire by the end of October 2018.

The unions, last Wednesday, put their members on alert fearing that the new manpower services contracts might not serve their interests.

The GMD appealed to the unions not to do anything that would disrupt the industrial harmony in the sector, saying the gains of the recent past, if care was not taken, could be frittered away.