The Federal Government has said the Dangote Group will redeploy staff earlier disengaged from its refinery operations, following the resolution of its dispute with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria.
The FG also announced that the redeployed staff will not suffer any loss of pay due to the redeployment.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi, confirmed this in a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said, “After examining the procedure used in the disengagement of workers, the meeting agreed that the management of Dangote Group shall immediately begin the process of redeploying the disengaged staff to other companies within the Dangote Group, with no loss of pay.
“No worker will be victimised arising from their role in the impasse between Dangote and PENGASSAN.”
He further explained that both sides had reached a compromise, noting that “PENGASSAN agreed to start the process of calling off the strike. Both parties agreed to this understanding in good faith.”
The minister also stressed that “unionisation is a right of workers in accordance with the laws of Nigeria, and this right should be respected.”
The conciliation meetings followed a breakdown in earlier talks between the refinery management and PENGASSAN, which had ended in a deadlock on Monday.
The dispute began after PENGASSAN raised concerns over what it described as mass transfers and dismissals of union members by Dangote’s refinery management.
The union also accused the company of replacing some Nigerian staff with foreign workers, arguing that these actions violated labour laws and undermined local employment rights.
The refinery’s management, however, denied these allegations, stating that the workforce reorganization was due to operational requirements and not related to union activities.
The standoff escalated when the union took industrial action by halting gas and crude oil supplies to the refinery, raising alarm over potential disruptions to the nation’s energy supply and economic stability.
The Federal Government intervened, citing the risk of “adverse effects on the economy and energy security,” and convened high-level talks to resolve the impasse.
PUNCH.
