Nigeria: NUPENG Warns On Security Deployments at Chevron Site
Friday, 04 January 2013
The Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers (NUPENG) has expressed concern about the deployment of soldiers and other security agencies to Chevron installations in Escravos, Warri, Port Harcourt and other locations.
Comrade Isaac Aberare, Acting General Secretary, suggested that the move could lead to escalation and major industrial relations problems. “We warn that the flooding of Chevron installations with soldiers and denial of over 1,700 contract workers access to these installations may lead to serious industrial relations crisis that will not augur well for the oil and gas industry, if any of them is harmed,” he said in a statement. "We state that the discussions of the end of contract of the big six in Chevron, especially on the labour related issues is still on-going and co-ordinated by the group executive director, corporate services of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)."
Aberare said that brokered labour talks were due to be completed by the end of 2012, but no agreement had yet been achieved. "The union reiterates that it submitted a proposal for transition discussion which started on December 18, 2012, and with the intervention of NNPC, discussions were held on December 27 and 28 with no agreement reached,” he said. "The union frowns at the sudden deployment of troops to Chevron installations when a follow-up meeting has been scheduled for January 7, 2013 in Abuja. This action of Chevron is uncalled for when agreement on labour related issues has not been concluded. The union is advising Chevron management to have faith in the discussions brokered by the NNPC and put any action on hold like denying the contract workers access to its installations and wait for the outcome of the January 7, 2013, meeting in Abuja to resolve the impasse," added Aberare.
