Labour divided as NUPENG, PENGASSAN support petrol price increase

The rank of the labour unions in the country has been split in two over the new pump price for Premium motor spirit, also known as petrol recently announced by government.

The split was caused by the position of the two main unions in the country’s oil and gas sector which on Friday voiced their support for government decision to arrive at the new N145 per litre for the product.

The unions, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers NUPENG, made their positions known in a joint issued on Friday in Abuja.

The national executive councils of both organisations also called for stakeholder engagement by the government to further discuss issues pertaining how to reinvest the gains from the price modulation mechanism.

Read also: Petrol price increase: Your action immoral, illegal, Falana tells FG

The communique reads in part, “The NEC-in-session had an extensive discussion on the recent price modulation. The NEC-in-session is of the view that price deregulation has its benefits in the immediate and near future.  However, the NEC-in-session strongly demands the Federal Government’s engagement with the stakeholders to work out a clear direction on how to reinvest the gains into the economy to cushion the effect of the price.”

It would be recalled that the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had both voiced opposition to government’s decision, and vowed to confront government over the matter.

But with the position of PENGASSAN and NUPENG, any planned action of the other unions may have just hit a brick wall.

The oil workers also stated that there was an urgent need for a paradigm shift and a new direction in the management of new investment and income in the oil and gas industry, but with critical provisions.

They however stressed that there should be an immediate commencement of negotiation of minimum wage for workers across all cadres.

The workers added that there was also the need for the “engagement of critical stakeholders for the Federal Government to provide a road map with timelines of the infrastructures it intends to embark upon with the proceeds from this price modulation to cushion the harsh effects of the new direction.

 

 

 

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