In a dramatic escalation of the dispute between Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) and the Dangote Group, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has asked its affiliates to mobilise and join the strike called by PENGASSAN against Dangote refinery and petrochemicals for allegedly sacking 800 workers.
The congress directed its affiliates and members nationwide to immediately mobilise for what it described as a “full-scale, decisive engagement” against the conglomerate’s alleged anti-worker practices.
The congress gave the directive through an internal memo signed by NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero on Monday in Abuja
The PENGASSAN and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) have accused the Dangote refinery and petrochemicals management of “unfair labour practices, and victimisation of workers at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and other subsidiaries.”
The NLC explained that the conflict has moved beyond the individual struggles of PENGASSAN and NUPENG, becoming a broader fight for workers’ rights across the country.
“This letter serves as a formal and urgent request in response to the protracted and deliberate anti-worker crusade being waged by the Dangote Group against the Nigerian working class,” Ajaero wrote in the memo.
“The ongoing battle with PENGASSAN and NUPENG is merely a symptom of a deeper sickness – a capitalist pathology of union-busting, worker enslavement, and gross impunity that defines the Group’s industrial relations strategy,” it said.
The NLC further accused the Dangote refinery and petrochemicals management of behaving like “a state within a state,” alleging that the company has repeatedly violated Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution, flouted International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions 87 and 98, and treated national labour laws with “utter disdain.”
Ajaero described the company’s operations as sites of exploitation rather than legitimate workplaces.
“Their facilities are not workplaces but plantations of exploitation, where the dignity of the worker is systematically crushed to maximise profit for the few,” he declared.
“The time for pleading and endless, fruitless dialogue is over. The moment for decisive, collective action is now.”
Declaring the start of a new phase of confrontation, the NLC placed all its affiliates on immediate and full alert. Ajaero instructed unions to launch a comprehensive unionisation drive targeting every Dangote facility in the country, calling it a “strategic priority.”
“You are requested to commence, with immediate effect, preparation for a vigorous and comprehensive unionisation of all workers within every Dangote Group facility falling under your jurisdiction,” the memo read.
The congress further ordered the establishment of Action Mobilisation Committee in every affiliate union.
These committees are to engage directly with the NLC National Secretariat within 72 hours to harmonise strategy, logistics, and communications.
Ajaero emphasised that the ultimate goal of the campaign is to force the conglomerate to respect workers’ fundamental rights.
“This action aims to compel the Dangote Group to unconditionally respect the right of every worker to freely join a union of their choice, cease all forms of intimidation and union-busting activities, and submit to the authority of our nation’s labour laws and institutions,” he said.
NLC also accused the Dangote refinery petrochemicals of leveraging its economic power to escape regulatory oversight and accountability, alleging that key government agencies have been compromised.
“The impunity of the Dangote Group must be met with the resistance of organised labour,” Ajaero asserted.
He added: “No amount of media propaganda or paid hirelings will stop us from fighting for our liberty in the face of apparent regulatory capture, where the state seems to have abdicated its responsibility to hold this behemoth accountable.”
“The blood and sweat of Nigerian workers built this conglomerate. We will not let it become a monument to their oppression.”
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
