Udeme Clement-Ogbuanu
11 January 2008
Lagos — National Assembly has been asked to enact laws that would address what has been described as unfair labour practices by multi-national oil companies operating in Nigeria.
President, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Peter Esele, who made the appeal in a chat with THISDAY, said such laws must include punitive measures to act as deterrent to other oil and gas companies engaging in contract staffing, casualisation, as well as expatriate quota abuse in Nigeria.
He said the law became necessary, to curtail unwholesome practices that have become recurring mechanism for stagnation, full employment and career prospect of Nigerians in the industry.
He said, "we frown at activities of some oil and gas companies and their collaborators engaging in such unhealthy practices. We are sounding a note of warning for them to desist from it or risk being sanctioned by a committee that would be empowered by appropriate laws to checkmate violators. We condemn in totality, the actions of these firms operating in the industry for perpetuating such unfair practices on the psyche of Nigerian workers."
Meanwhile, another labour organisation, National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) Workers, has condemned in strong terms, incessant cases of pipeline vandalisation in Nigeria, stating that such criminal acts bring about economic losses to the industry that had already suffered serious set back in the past.
Zonal Secretary of the Union, Tokunbo Korodo, in a chat with THISDAY in Lagos, urged the Federal Government to intensify efforts at providing adequate security network for pipelines all over the country.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
