NUPENG pickets Shell, Chevron offices

Oil workers picketed the offices of Shell Petroleum Development Company and Chevron Nigeria Limited over potential plans to cut jobs amid union demands for temporary employees to be given permanent appointments.
Shell, in a statement, denied allegations of anti-union policies and said that affected workers were being compensated. It said: “We are currently divesting from a number of our assets in Western Niger Delta as agreed by joint venture partners and approved by the Federal Government. “This is part of a portfolio realignment exercise that will also help to grow indigenous capacity in the oil and gas industry,” it added.
Chevron officials were not immediately available for comment.

Shell fires 1,500 workers

Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, has fired 1,500 workers in Nigeria as part of the ongoing restructuring in the Anglo- Dutch oil giant. It was gathered that the oil workers were sacked at different locations and offices of the oil firm in Warri, Port Harcourt and Lagos.
The action has pitched the management of the oil company against NUPENG with the union demanding immediate reversal of the action. The union also called out its members in a protest which took place simultaneously in Lagos, Warri and Port Harcourt. The protest grounded activities in the field locations in western and eastern operations in Warri and Port Harcourt respectively.
The action led to gridlock on the ever-busy Airport/ Ogunu Road as the protesters barricaded the road with oil tankers. Residents had hectic time wading through the traffic snarl to reach their destinations. Stern-looking security agents were stationed at all entry points into Shell offices and facilities apparently to keep the protesters at bay.
The heavy presence of security men, armed with dogs, was noticed at Shell’s main office opposite Federal Government College, FGC, Warri. But the protesters shunned the security web around as they marched through major streets in the city, chanting anti-Shell slogans. Similar action took place in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

NUPENG, JAF Accuse FG of Plot to Increase Fuel Price

Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Joint Action Front (JAF) have alleged plot by the Federal Government to impose a new price regime for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol. Both groups in separate statements said the current scarcity being experienced across the country had led to a sharp increase in the price of fuel, which currently sells between N110 and N140 per litre as against the official price of N97.

NUPENG berated the Federal Government over its inability to address the scarcity of fuel stating that it could be another strategy by government to introduce deregulation of petroleum products through the back door. The union, in a statement issued by its Acting General Secretary, Mr. Isaac Aberare, argued that the reserve which the NNPC claimed could last for 45 days is a ruse as a litre of fuel now sells for over N110.00 due to persistent scarcity of the product. The union blamed the government for its current scarcity noting that repairs have not been effected at the vandalized pipelines at Arepo Ogun State due to the inability of the security agencies to recover the bodies of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) workers that were killed last month.

NUPENG: Nationwide strike on hold

The Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers said it had put hold the nationwide strike the union members scheduled to commence on Thursday August 23, 2012. The President of the union, Mr. Achese Igwe, who made the announcement after a meeting with federal government, said the ongoing strike in Abuja would however continue.

The meeting between NUPENG, representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and government, took place in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).

 Those present at the meeting included the SGF, Senator Pius Anyim; Minister of Labour, Mr. Emeka Wogu; Minister State for Finance, Dr. Yerima Ngama; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour, Mr. Tunji Olaopa; acting President of the NLC, Comrade Promise Adewusi; NLC Deputy President, Comrade Joe Ajaero; NUPENG President, Comrade Igwe Achese; Secretary General, TUC, Comrade John Kolawole; and some representatives of petroleum tank farms.

 At the meeting, the parties agreed that the status quo shall remain until negotiations are concluded. The implication is that fuel scarcity in Abuja would remain unresolved while the union would hold off halting supply of petroleum products to other parts of the country.

NUPENG had threatened to embark on a nationwide strike if the government refused to pay subsidy claims of marketers. The union had on Thursday last week started an industrial action in the Federal Capital Territory. The strike has led to fuel scarcity in the FCT.