17th December, 2014
The on-going strike by the two major oil workers’ unions in the country- Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, and National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG – has thrown Nigerians into another circle of discomfort owing to the attendant fuel scarcity across the country. As reasonable as their agitations may seem, Nigerians do not deserve to go through this avoidable hardship at this time of the year.
On Monday, 15 December, PENGASSAN and NUPENG began an indefinite strike to protest what they call anti-labour practices in the sector by oil companies, and the non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB. Their grievance is aggravated by the inability of government to carry out turn-around maintenance of the nation’s decrepit refineries and reduce pump prices of petroleum products following the slump in global prices of crude oil.
While the unions believe the strike will also compel government to devise new strategies to combat pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft that have impacted negatively on the nation’s economy and employment in the country, they are also kicking against the non-implementation of the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Content Development, NOGICD, Act for the benefit of Nigerians in management positions in oil companies.
Though representatives of the Federal Government are expected to meet with the leadership of the unions on Wednesday, 17 December, to resolve the issues, an empirical analysis of the oil workers’ agitations show that the grievances that gave rise to the strike are shortcomings undermining the development of the oil industry which the Federal Government ought to have tackled before now if it meant business.
It is difficult to fathom why do federal and state governments in Nigeria treat salient issues with kid gloves until workers go on strike before government is jolted from its reverie. We do not acknowledge strike as the best option but negligence on the part of the government has compelled most unions or associations to go on strikes as a weapon of last resort to press home their demands.
It is the masses that bear the pain when unions go on strike. Hence, both parties should resolve the issues amicably in the interest of the masses. Putting Nigerians in unnecessary hardship due to the non-passage of the PIB is not ideal since it is the statutory role of the National Assembly to pass the bill. The unions should ensure they put the interest of Nigerians above any selfish or ulterior motive.