Operations at the head office of Addax Petroleum in Lagos on Wednesday came to a halt following picketing by oil workers under the auspices of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria.
The workers, who gathered at the entrance of the company’s offices as early at 6am, chanted labour solidarity songs, alleging that the management engages in anti-labour practices.
According to them, the international oil company was insensitive to their health and safety concerns in its operational areas, career progression and development as well as undue delay of their ongoing collective bargaining agreement, which has been on for eight months.
The workers therefore demanded that the company’s management should address all health and safety concerns and promotion issues raised by them.
Addressing the members of the branch, the PENGASSAN branch Chairman in Addax Petroleum, Comrade Kingsley Onoyom, accused the management of high handedness on issues of health and safety of the workers, adding: “We have registered our concern concerning the offshore transportation system and feeding at the Izombe Flow Station but the management has refused to do anything to fix the problem.”
Onoyom alleged that many of the members have not been promoted in the last eight years, while some are on the same job without promotion for 15 years.
Comrade Onoyom stated: “We have done everything to ensure that the management close out the negotiation of our Collective Bargaining Agreement that was started since November last year but instead management continues to delay the CBA and this is affecting our morale and productivity.
“When our national secretariat (PENGASSAN National Secretariat) tried to mediate and ensure that the negotiation continues and is closed out early, the management embarrassed our national officers by denying them entry.”
On his own, the Lagos Zonal Chairman of PENGASSAN, Comrade Abel Agarin, said that the management should fix a meeting for the conclusion of the prolonged CBA negotiation for Friday and there must be a commitment from the management to meet all the demands of the workers before suspending the picketing.
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