President of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Comrade Williams Akporeha, chatted journalists during the just concluded International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva, Switzerland, on issues affecting the union. MOSES JOHN who attended the conference brings the details.
Struggle against exploitation
The status of NUPENG as a trade union in terms of membership, financial capacity and ability to organise and represent Nigeria oil and gas workers has been adversely affected by the repressive activities of multinational oil companies in Nigeria. The struggle against this form of repression and workers exploitation is almost three decades old and has been a herculean task. Membership of the union has been seriously depleted with indecent work entrenched resulting in upsurge in crime and social dislocation and defiant behaviours.
The international oil companies, through various policies and practices, entrenches anti-union and labour practices in the Nigeria oil and gas industries. This include refusal to allow unionization of contract and staff workers in Nigeria, fragmentation of contract into thousands to frustrate the efforts of the union in organising precarious workers which they have entrenched in the system, making workers to sign pre- engagement non-membership of union which makes it a dread associating with the union. They treat labour issues with contempt and disdain and refusing to implement rulings of the Industrial arbitration panel whenever it goes against them. The wages these IOCs pay Nigerian workers is very ridiculous.
Take home pay
An average worker is paid less than 200 dollars per month. As a result of the employment policy of these multinationals, workers are denied collective bargaining powers and in some cases, where such is signed, the multinationals, through their contractors, refuse to implement such despite all entreaties.
More worrisome of the wicked development is the workers severance benefit by the contractors engaged by the IOCs. A Nigerian will work under harsh condition for several years receiving peanuts and yet when the contract ends, his severance benefits are withheld by the contractors hired by the IOCs. In most cases, when confronted, they claim ignorance of the whereabouts of the contractors.
The health and safety of these workers is disheartening as they are constantly exposed to dangerous chemicals because there are no personal protective equipment, no access to medical facilities, no casual vacation, long hours of work without break. The repressive activities of these multinationals has accentuated the activities in the Niger Delta resulting in organised attacks on installations, hostage taking and community insurgency as prevalent in the Niger Delta region today and other parts of the country where there is mass unemployment and under employment
That is one of the challenges we face all the times. Sometimes when we give ultimatum or threat to action, interventions are made. Immediately that is done and action suspended, what we see is buck-passing and at the end of the day, not much is achieved. You see these issues continue to arise and reoccur. In the real sense, the issues are not resolved. What we have continued to observe is that the multinational have continued with their anti union activities unabated.
You will agree with me that between then and now, we have engaged in some other forms of discussion which have not worked. As a union and workers, the only tool before us is to shout. That is the essence of being a union. We will continue to bring the issues to public glare. This is also one approach to it is to bringing it to the global, stage. Before we came to Geneva, we gave a 21-day ultimatum which is running. We also feel that it is necessary to engage the global community on some of these issues.
PIGB
Before it was sent to the President, I am sure that stakeholders made their input. Apart from having just one regulator, some other agencies might be formed to give the regulator more power to continue to work. So, I believe that the most important thing to do is to pass that bill so that we can move from there.
Relationship with IOC
Our relationship with the IOC is very cordial, but as business people, what they think all the time is their pocket and how they will continue to make more money. Unfortunately, they are looking towards the area of workers to cut cost and make more money. To me, that is inhuman because today, we are talking about contract workers.
Initially, these companies used to employ permanent workers. But as we speak, they have moved from that entirely and completely outsourced the jobs. So, the issue of their core business does not even arise. Imagine Chevron today has almost outsourced all its business to contractors who will look for another contractor and the chain continue.
In this process, we are impoverishing Nigerians. The youths coming up today don’t even have the opportunity to see any job as means of creating wealth. The amount they are paid is not even encouraging. So, what type of country are we even creating? Most times, when we cry to the Ministry of Labour, they replied that we are being paid something which is the issue here. ILO talks about decent work, but what is happening right now is that we are snowballing into slave labour, by replacing decent work with precarious work. We are getting to a point where people will no longer see work as a motivating factor.
Efforts of Labour ministry
I will say that they are trying their best. But what they always tell us is that their role is advisory and that they will continue to advise the multi nationals. When you don’t give clear directive to somebody on what must be done and he has the initiative to either take your advice or leave it, they will do whatever pleases them. What they are thinking about is how to make money.
I think the Ministry of Labour should also wake up and try to direct these IOCs on what they should do because the laws are there. We talk about a contract of three years plus, one which means that a contract must run for three years with a window of one year to renegotiate. We have six month contractors now which the multi nationals are now indulged in. They will offer a Nigerian working in the oil and gas six months contract, after which they roll it over because the jobs are there. They now give a maximum of one year. When you work for one year, they ask you to collect your pay off, and offer you another appointment letter in January in the oil and gas industry.
Mission to ILC
These multinationals have businesses globally. Our counterparts in the Netherlands, through Industrial told us that the amount paid to contract workers is the same thing paid to permanent workers without any form of disparity. You decide whether to work on contract basis or as a permanent worker. The salary is almost the same, but in Nigeria, you know what the situation is. There is no issue of decent work there our cry here is that ILO should also reach out to these companies to replicate what is happening globally in Nigeria. Is it not the same oil sold globally at the same price? Why should it be Nigerian workers that are treated in this manner? I want to believe that the government has not really paid attention to employment in the oil and gas sector. They have looked the other way.
Let decent work policy be enacted. If they must employ workers under contract terms, then the issue of decent pay should come in, but not rolling out contract every six or twelve months. They should return to the earlier plan of three plus. They should also employ permanent workers and not contract staff. Today, we have a situation where Shell today does not have a single permanent staff in the category of NUPENG cadre. Are you saying we don’t have OND holders or school certificate or vocational certificate? These are people who can also work and move up.
