Akor Sylvester, Abuja
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has expressed concern over the attitude of some employers to their employees on issues regarding workers exercising their right to unionise, alleging that many employees are afraid to join trade unions for fear of losing their jobs.
President of PENGASSAN and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, who stated this on Wednesday while addressing newsmen in Abuja, said workers’ right to organise and belong to trade unions was guaranteed by Nigerian laws as well as relevant International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions.
Osifo stated this against the backdrop of the industrial dispute that led to the union’s strike, saying the intervention of stakeholders had resulted in the suspension of the action to allow negotiations to continue.
The labour leader, however, emphasised that the suspension should not be mistaken for a resolution of the dispute, insisting that the issues responsible for the industrial action must be addressed.
He said, the union had received several calls from stakeholders seeking to intervene after the strike commenced, prompting the leadership to give room for such interventions.
Osifo said the union had made it clear to those intervening that simply asking PENGASSAN to suspend or call off the strike would not resolve the underlying problem.
“It’s not just to say call off the strike. We need to solve the issues,” Osifo said.
The labour leader said it was unacceptable for any company to prevent workers from forming or joining unions, stressing that the freedom to organise was fundamental to workers’ rights.
“We can’t have a company who will not want people to unionise. It is totally wrong,” he said.
Osifo also alleged that some workers who genuinely wanted to belong to unions were being held back by fear of victimisation or dismissal.
He said workers generally understood that union membership offered them greater protection and provided a platform for negotiating improved remuneration and better conditions of service.
“Who truly doesn’t want to be a member of the union? Because you know very well that being in the union, your job is much more protected and your remuneration will be much more enhanced,” he said.
The PENGASSAN president argued that only a small proportion of workers would genuinely reject union membership, maintaining that the overwhelming majority wanted the protection and collective bargaining strength provided by organised labour.
He said the union would continue to pursue the matter through engagement with relevant stakeholders but would not hesitate to resume industrial action if the dispute was not satisfactorily resolved.
“If it’s not resolved, you’ll see us again out there shouting and pushing for the issues,” Osifo warned.
He maintained that the position of the union was supported by both Nigerian labour laws and international standards governing freedom of association and the right of workers to organise.
Osifo said the latest intervention followed a series of contacts from stakeholders immediately after the commencement of the strike, adding that the union decided to give the process an opportunity to succeed.
According to him, the Minister of Labour and other stakeholders were expected to continue the intervention process, with the union insisting that the objective must be a lasting resolution rather than a temporary suspension of industrial action.
The PENGASSAN president said the union had learnt from previous industrial disputes that suspending a strike without resolving the issues only postponed the problem.
He therefore called for genuine negotiations that would address the concerns of workers and guarantee their right to organise freely.
Osifo’s position comes amid renewed labour concerns over the right of workers to unionise, an issue that has repeatedly generated industrial disputes in Nigeria’s private sector.
PENGASSAN has maintained that employers should respect workers’ statutory right to organise, while negotiations should be used to resolve disagreements over union membership, remuneration and working conditions.
