Some members of staff of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission on Tuesday besieged the offices of the commission in Jabi and Utako, Abuja in protest of alleged poor welfare.
The protesting workers gave the management a 24-hour ultimatum to address their grievances or face industrial unrest.
The Chairman of the union, Abuja Branch, Okechukwu Anya, told journalists that the peaceful protest was to draw the attention of the management to resolve issues of staff welfare.
Anya identified the issues as non-remittance of pension deductions from staff salaries, poor working environment, insufficient working tools, unpaid staff claims and on-call allowances.
Other issues, he said, were staff medicals, seven months outstanding salary payments, and non-payment of outsourced personnel.
The chairman said that the protest became necessary following the nonchalant response of the management towards resolving the issues.
He said that the union had written several letters to the management to resolve the issues but to no avail.
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He said that the protest was in line with their constitutional rights to express their grievances and seek redress, especially on issues affecting their welfare, economic rights, and working conditions.
Anya said: “Part of our mandate as executive of the union is to work in partnership with the management to enhance the welfare of staff and the overall growth of the organisation.
“We are appealing to the management of the commission to uphold their commitment to their workforce.
“We will continue to voice our displeasure until all issues are satisfactorily resolved.”
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the security officers at the offices locked the premises and denied the protesters access.
They workers later dispersed with no response from the management.
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the commission, Adamu Garba, declined comments on grounds that he was on leave.
Garba directed that all enquiries should be directed to his deputy, Carol Chika.
However, Chika did not pick her calls.
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