Top Stories
ICPC
swoops on Imo LG Bureau Officials
By CHUKS EHIRIM, Abuja
THE game is up for corrupt officials of the Bureau of local government and
chieftaincy Affairs, the body that oversees the management and disbursement
of funds to local government councils in Imo State, as they are now chatting
with the...
Iwu
in fresh trouble
From CHUKS EHIRIM, Abuja
AS dust raised
by the controversial 2007 election are yet to settle, Chairman of the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Maurice Iwu, appears headed
for yet another storm with....
Tribal
war looms in Cross River
CROSS River
is gradually on the edge of a precipice as the two dominant tribal groups,
the Efik and Atan, are deeply divided in a seeming war of political hegemony
in the State. This is believed not to be unconnected with the political colouration
that Liyel Imoke introduced during the brief period he was governor before
his...
Raymond
Obieri: Good to Great
By KELECHI DECA
“He
who sacrifices a whole offering shall be rewarded for a whole offering; he
who offers a burnt offering shall have the reward of a burnt offering; but
he who offers humility to God and man shall be rewarded with a reward...
Huawei Nigeria:The Innovative
Edge
By KELECHI DECA
IF you take
a good look at that CDMA cell phone is your hand or the desk phone on your
table, there is a surety it has a Huawei logo or name emblazoned on it. Almost
70% of all such...
• Ohakim, Udenwa in cold war
• Seven UNIMAID students
arraigned for cultism
• Labour leader advocates
raise in NYSC members allowances
• Ibru
advocates capacity building among youths
• Seven
stores, eight houses razed
• New Law on House rent
for Enugu passed
• Yar'Adua commends NYSC
on nation building
• Okiro's friends donate
office complex to FUTO
• Wamakko orders N1.7b
rice for sale to public
• Ebonyi Radio GM, two others
charged with attempted murder
• ICPC blows own trumpent
• Media reports can jeopardize
national security –Army Commander
• NYSC member donates writing
materials to school
•Polio cripples 68 children
• Border clashes imminent
between C/River, Abia
• Four docked for alleged
armed robbery
• PDP chieftain rallies
support for Daniel
• NLC boss escapes lynching
• Court bars Speaker from
swearing in APGA candidate
• Fashola wants prisons
relocated from residential areas
• Lady Nyako tackles Girl-
child education
• Wamakko trains 25,000
unemployed youths
PENGASSAN
tackles casualisation in oil, gas
…to resist Conoil from acquiring Chevron
By ANDREW OJIEZEL
DISSATISFIED with its anti-unionism, the leadership of Petroleum and Natural
Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PLC) has warned Conoil Plc against
its dream of acquiring the proposed 60 per cent shares in Chevron, just as
it vowed to phase out casualisation and contract staffing in industry.
The National President of the union, Babatunde Ogun, who made this known,recently
in Lagos, however stated that the union was not against sale of 60 per cent
in the Chevron but was against investors that would not show concern about
the welfare of workers, saying that the management must settle all entitlements
of workers before divests.
Venting his anger over the anti-labour operations of some companies, Ogun
reiterated that under no condition will the union allow Conoil to the buy
the shares in the company, and vowed “even if the company has all its
takes to acquire the 60 per cent shares, “but for its tyranny and refusal
to obey the labour law, we will not allow it to buy the shares. Nobody can
be greater than the law of the land.”
The oil and gas organised labour union who commended other indigenous oil
firms, Zenoil, AP, Oando for their labour-friendliness, said “Zenoil,
AP, Oando are free to aspire in acquiring the shares. We will not allow our
members that have been working for many years to be laid off without proper
negotiation and compensation.
Ogun expressed the concern of PENGASSAN over who will buy the 60 per cent,
urged Nigerians to show more commitment in investing in oil and gas industry.
In order to avoid straining the relationship which the union built with government,
the union said, “we assiduously worked continuously with government,
employers and other stakeholders to support government policy reviews for
efficient and optimal performance of resources and investment in the oil and
gas sector, but the current issue of Chevron might soil that good relationship
unless there was tactical resolution on it.
“We have persistently expressed and shared the position that will bring
about the desired positive intent of government's liberalisation and commercialisation
policy in the downstream oil and gas sector which require that we eschew all
sentiments, prejudice, favourism and sacred cow syndrome which has regrettably
stagnated our bewildered sector for decades.
According to Ogun and the General Secretary, Bayo Olowoshile, the union is
worried about the current move to set aside that merit and expertise which
is the key determinant factor for potential buyers, as stipulated by Bureau
of Public Enterprises (BPE) Act 1990. In the case of Chevron the determinant
factor is not being followed as some core investors bidding to buy the shares
have only financial capability without the managerial competence.
Ogun and Olowoshile noted that because of the questionable manner in which
Chevron wants to sell the shares PENGASSAN wants all workers in the company
to be fully settled before the final sale.
It would be recalled that the move by management of Chevron to leave the country
gave room for it to give up its 60 per cent in the business. However, in order
to avoid robbing workers of the accrued benefits, the parent body, PENGASSAN
noted that the over 13 meetings held by the workers with the management of
Chevron to resolve the issue amicably did not yield results.
