The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has slammed Adams Oshiomhole, over his position on the feud between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) and the management of Dangote Refinery.
Mr Oshiomhole, a former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress and Senator representing Edo North, had last Friday on Arise TV, criticized the industrial action declared by PENGASSAN following the disagreement with the Dangote Refinery, which resulted in a nationwide shutdown of oil facilities.
The lawmaker described the move as hasty and unfair to other workers.
Oshiomhole noted that while unions have the right to defend workers, they must do so in ways that do not create wider economic hardship.
Reacting to his criticism in a statement jointly signed by Comrades Williams Akporeha and Afolabi Olawale, the president and the general secretary respectively, NUPENG expressed disappointment in Oshiomhole’s remarks, describing it as a betrayal of labour principles and a distortion of established laws.
“We witness with utter disappointment a former labour leader now transformed into a vocal advocate for corporate oppression, actively campaigning against the very rights he once championed.
“His attempts to rationalise the victimisation of workers for exercising their fundamental rights of association and peaceful action are not only nauseating but also represent a flagrant misrepresentation of Nigerian labour law and the International Labour Organisation.
“Adams Oshiomhole’s criticism of PENGASSAN’s strike is an act of profound historical revisionism and political amnesia.
“Section 31 of the Trade Unions Act, Cap T14, LFN 2004 legally recognises trade disputes, including industrial actions undertaken by workers in sympathy with another group.
“PENGASSAN’s solidarity action with their members in Dangote Refinery is, therefore, a protected legal action.
“The principle that “an injury to one is an injury to all” is the foundational ethic of trade unionism globally,” the union stated.
Recall that PENGASSAN declared a strike against Dangote Refinery over the mass sacking of Nigerian workers.
However, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu intervened leading to the suspension of strike.
