Major labour crisis at Dangote refinery

The $20bn Dangote Petroleum Refinery is facing a major labour crisis following the order by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (Pengassan) for its members across seven oil and gas firms to halt all crude oil and gas supplies to the massive facility. The refinery, however, slammed the directive, which it described as criminal, lawless and economic sabotage, reports Punch. At the heart of the crisis is the dismissal of 800 workers, whom the union said were laid off after exercising their constitutional right to join Pengassan. The union alleged that the refinery flew in illegal Indian expatriates to operate in Nigeria’s sensitive energy sector. It further accused the refinery of wage discrimination, revealing that while Nigerian engineers earned N85 000 ($56.95) monthly, their Indian counterparts were paid upwards of $5 000. Efforts to obtain comments from the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Trade Union Congress president, Festus Osifo, proved unsuccessful.