Fuel Scarcity: FG To Meet PENGASSAN Officials Wednesday

PENGASSANThe Federal government will meet officials of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, Wednesday, in an attempt to resolve issues surrounding the ongoing strike by members of the union.

The president of the union, Francis Johnson, disclosed this in a telephone interview on Monday.

“Government has called the union for a meeting against Wednesday”, Mr.Johnson said. “The strike is ongoing we have started and everyone can see it. There is total compliance in some of the oil installations in the country as the strike continues (Tuesday)”.

Mr. Johnson said that the level of compliance to the industrial action by the oil workers was impressive.

PENGASSAN and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, embarked on an indefinite strike on Monday to protest what they called anti-labour practices in the sector by oil companies, and the non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB.

Others grievances are the inability of government to carry out turn-around maintenance of the refineries and reduce pump prices of petroleum products in line with the slump in global prices of crude oil.

The strike is also to ensure that government evolves new strategies to combat pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft that have impacted negatively on the nation’s economy and employment in the country.

The unions are also protesting the non -implementation of the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Content Development, NOGICD, Act to reflect Nigerians in management positions and expatriate quota law, among others.

(NAN)