Federal Government, on Sunday, summoned the leadership of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the management of Dangote Refinery to an emergency meeting over an ongoing rift between the duo.
FG also urged PENGASSAN members nationwide to reconsider its planned strike over its dispute with Dangote Refinery, saying the plan, if enforced would take a great toll on the economy.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Maigari Dingyadi, said the meeting will hold at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja today.
The rift between Dangote Refinery and PENGASSAN got to a head on Sunday when the union directed all its members to withdraw their services over the sack of no fewer than 800 members of the union.
Dingyadi, in his reaction to the development, said the ongoing dispute would have adverse impacts on both economic stability and national security, while urging the leadership of PENGASSAN to withdraw the strike declaration to allow his Ministry to conciliate the dispute in a peaceful atmosphere
Spokesperson of the ministry, Patience Onuobia, in a statement, quoted the Minister as saying, “The Ministry of Labour and Employment through the Director of Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations has extended invitations to the leadership of PENGASSAN and the management of Dangote Refinery to attend a conciliation meeting in my office on Monday.
“I appeal to both parties to be mindful of the importance of the petroleum sector to the country, being the core of her economy.
“A strike will not only lead to heavy revenue losses by the country but also cause more hardship and difficulties for Nigerians. Consequentially, it will have adverse impacts, both on economic stability and national security.”
