The federal government on Wednesday brokered peace between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and Dangote Refinery.
To this end, PENGASSAN has agreed to call off strike following the decision of the management of Dangote Refinery to take back the disengaged staff to its other companies.
TheHintsNews reports that PENGASSAN had directed supply of gas and crude to Dangote Refinery be stopped forthwith and also withdrew its services in response to the termination of appointment of over 800 members.
Checks by TheHintsNews revealed that the strike action has already led to scarcity of fuel and long queues at filling stations.
The decision of PENGASSAN to call off the strike was sequel to the intervention of the National Security Adviser, Minister of Labour and Employment, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Director General of Department of State Service, Director General of National Intelligence Agency, among others at the meeting held on Tuesday which ended in the early hours of Wednesday.
After a lengthy discussion, the Minister of Labour, Dr. Mohammed Dingvadi informed the meeting that unionisation is a right of workers in accordance with the laws of Nigeria and that this right should be respected.
He said: “After examining the procedure used in the disengagement of workers, the meeting agreed that the management of Dangote Group shall immediately start the process of taking 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.
“PENGASSAN agreed to start the process of calling off the strike. Both parties agreed to this understanding in good faith.”