Elf Shuts Out 2000 Workers

Bolaji Ogundele, Port Harcourt - 16.02.2008

For protesting alleged poor workers’ welfare arrangement, the oil multinational, Elf Petroleum Nigeria Limited (EPLN), shut over 2000 members of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum & Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) in its employ out of its premises in Port Harcourt on Friday.

This, it is feared, may cause the company’s 250,000-barrels-per-day production of crude oil to plummet. Saturday Tribune learnt from some of the aggrieved oil workers, who said they had been locked outside since about 5:00am, that some of them had worked for years in the company on informal status, which they said was meant to deprive them of terminal benefits.

Speaking on the development, the Zonal Chairman of PENGASSAN, Alex Akaluzu, told journalists that the associations were in the middle of negotiation with the company’s management on resolving the issues at stake, adding that they were surprised to see management’s new resort.

He, however, pointed out that they had not started any form of strike, but warned that should the management fail to quickly resolve all matters at stake, the unions would have no other choice than to cause a shutdown of operation of all oil companies in the area.

“The unions were negotiating with the management of the company over some lingering issues involving the welfare of members when the process suddenly collapsed.

“For sometime now, the two unions have made concerted efforts to ensure that the company respects the agreement it signed with them. Part of the agreement involves periodic review of the welfare and other entitlements of staff.