Oil Workers Appeal to Tinubu to End Casualisation in Upstream Sector

ABUJA — Oil workers have appealed directly to President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the growing dispute over casualisation in Nigeria’s petroleum industry, with NUPENG calling for an end to the practice, particularly among workers in the upstream sector.

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) made the appeal when its leadership visited President Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.

Casualisation, involving temporary, contract and other forms of insecure employment, has remained a major source of tension between organised labour and employers in the oil and gas industry.

NUPENG National Executive President, Otunba Salimon Akanni Oladiti, said the union had attempted to resolve the matter through engagements with affected companies but had yet to achieve the desired result.

According to him, NUPENG and PENGASSAN have been reluctant to resort to industrial action because of the potential impact a disruption in the oil sector could have on Nigeria’s economy.

“Your Excellency, our relationship with the International Oil Companies and the indigenous players in the upstream sector has been very cordial. However, we want to seize this opportunity to bring to your attention an unhealthy trend we have been trying to correct with little to no success. It is the casualisation of workers, particularly in the upstream sector,” Oladiti said.

He added: “For a sector that is strategic and taken as the economic jugular of the nation, NUPENG and its counterpart, the PENGASSAN have been tolerating these unwholesome practices, knowing full well the enormous disruption that any industrial actions could cause to the economy.”

The union president said the situation should not be mistaken for acceptance of the practice.

“We have engaged the management of some of the affected companies without results. Mr. President, we urge you to use your good offices to stop casualisation of workers in our sector,” he appealed.

Union Praises Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda

Despite its demand for action on casualisation, NUPENG praised the Tinubu administration for what it described as labour-friendly policies and interventions in the infrastructure and energy sectors.

Oladiti commended the government’s road construction programme, CNG initiative, gas-to-power plans and efforts to revive the Warri and Port Harcourt refineries.

“We commend your Renewed Hope Agenda for being a labour friendly one, especially your bold decision to End fuel subsidy regime that had depleted the country’s reserves over the years. It was a tough action but we can see the enormous gains,” he said.

Highway Projects Applauded

NUPENG said the condition of Nigeria’s roads was particularly important to its members because tanker drivers depend on the highways to transport petroleum products across the country.

“We’ve seen real progress in the rehabilitation of federal highways, making journeys safer for our tanker drivers. Mr. President, your administration has turned federal highways into massive construction sites,” Oladiti said.

The union singled out the 750-kilometre, six-lane Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the 1,068-kilometre Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway.

“For our members, a good road is the difference between arriving home safely and never arriving at all. Every stretch of highway rehabilitated or constructed, means fewer accidents, fewer spillages, fewer lives lost, and lesser stress for the men behind the wheel. Mr. President, that is a reform our members feel in their bones, and for it we say thank you,” he said.

NUPENG Wants Role in CNG Expansion

The union also welcomed the Federal Government’s push for CNG and gas-based energy, describing the initiative as an opportunity to lower energy costs, encourage industrial growth and generate employment.

“We recognize the strategic shift towards cleaner and cheaper energy sources,” Oladiti said.

He described the CNG and gas-to-power programmes as “a forward-thinking strategy that will drive industrialization, create jobs, and provide affordable energy for our people.”

Oladiti noted that billions of naira in private investment had been mobilised for CNG, while more than 100,000 vehicles had been converted.

“We want to humbly request that our Union be given this opportunity to leverage on the CNG initiative, and we will not abuse it,” he said.

Call to Revive Petroleum Depots

NUPENG also welcomed efforts to revive the Warri and Port Harcourt refineries through partnerships with Chinese firms but urged the government to extend the same attention to the country’s ageing petroleum storage facilities.

Oladiti identified the deteriorating depots of the Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company (NPSC) as requiring urgent intervention.

“We also want to commend your administration’s move to revive the Warri and Port Harcourt refineries through partnership with Chinese firms.

“Your Excellency, we want to humbly request that the same energy and drive to inject life back to the refineries be extended to the decaying Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company, NPSC, depots of country.

“We strongly recommend they can be handed over to private investors to manage under an equity arrangement,” he said.

The appeal to President Tinubu places the casualisation dispute at the centre of the Federal Government’s engagement with organised labour in the petroleum sector.

For NUPENG, the campaign is ultimately about ensuring dignity, job security and adequate protection for workers in an industry the union considers central to Nigeria’s economy.

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