Dangote refinery: TUC demands apology, reinstatement of sacked workers

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria has called on the management of the Dangote Petrochemical Refinery to publicly apologise and reinstate more than 800 workers dismissed over a unionisation dispute.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, TUC Secretary-General Nuhu Toro said the refinery violated the constitutional rights of the sacked employees.

“The Dangote and PENGASSAN rift concerns the TUC because PENGASSAN is an affiliate of the TUC, and there is no way they can beat your child, and the father stays aloof.

“Even the last meeting that was held on the 8th of September at the Ministry of Labour office, both PENGASSAN and the TUC were represented.

“We demand the reversal of the arbitrary dismissal of over 800 workers by Dangote. If that is done, the next thing that we demand is a public apology from the Dangote Refinery Management, with an assurance that such won’t be used against the union in the future,” he said.

His comments follow a nationwide strike declared by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria that paralysed operations at key oil and gas regulatory institutions on Monday.

The industrial action followed the weekend directive conveyed in a resolution signed by PENGASSAN General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, wherein the union accused the Dangote refinery of violating Nigerian labour laws and International Labour Organisation conventions by sacking workers for joining the union.

In response, Dangote debunked, dismissing workers in mass, and accused the union of sabotage.

But Toro said the core issue is workers’ right to join the union of their choice, which he criticised the management for failing to address.

“In some of the commentaries flying around, Dangote has refused to address the substantial matter here, which is the violation of workers’ right to belong to any union of their choice.

“What Dangote simply did was to give us a bad name. The first thing he did was to violate the agreement we both signed, arising from the previous intervention, that no worker was going to be victimised.

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“Unionisation is a right, and workers in Dangote have the right to belong to a union of their choice. In these circumstances, the workers have indicated that they want to belong to PENGASSAN, and they signed our forms.

“For Dangote to react, he has to hide under the guise of sabotage, which is debatable in my opinion, because by the time you say sabotage, you must be able to substantiate and provide evidence of who who are sabotaging,” said Toro.

Toro said both PENGASSAN and the TUC were represented at a meeting on September 8 at the Ministry of Labour, but accused refinery management of avoiding the “substantial matter” and breaching a prior agreement that no worker would be victimised.

He described the sackings as “oppression” and alleged that Nigerian staff were being treated less favourably than Indian expatriates employed by the refinery.

“Even more disturbing is the monopoly and double standard of Dangote, who enjoys massive state support, protection, and a lot of goodwill from this government. The same organisation turns around to deny Nigerians of their fundamental rights, while extending preferential treatment to expatriates, the Indians who we all know work within the same organisation.

“This is nothing but a show of economic oppression in modern-day slavery, and this is not acceptable to the TUC and even PENGASSAN,” the TUC secretary general stated.

“Dangote should allow the workers to belong to the union of their choice. He should respect the rights of the over 800 workers and reinstate them; the unions are also ready to shift grounds in the interest of Nigerians.

“Don’t forget that we are also Nigerians, and nobody in Nigeria is more patriotic than the workers who toil to create the wealth that is used to develop this nation.

“So when I listen to commentaries about the free trade zones and people not being patriotic, it is laughable. Onne is a free trade zone, and workers in ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies in Onne are members of unions,” Toro added.

The TUC chief defended the patriotism of union members and warned against what he described as “slave labour” practices, stressing that union rights are protected under the law.

He also recalled that organised labour had previously supported the refinery during its early challenges.

Toro urged Dangote to respect workers’ rights, reinstate the dismissed employees and commit not to use the dismissals to intimidate union activity.

He said unions were willing to compromise “in the interest of Nigerians” but would resist any attempt to deny workers their fundamental rights.