PENGASSAN suspends strike

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has suspended its six-day strike after holding talks with the Federal Government and employers in the oil sector.

The oil workers union called on its members nationwide to resume work with immediate effect after its National Executive Committee meeting.

This comes after the Ministry of Labour and Employment and Ministry of Petroleum Resources held a two-day meeting with the leadership of the PENGASSAN, Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers and employers and to address unresolved issues in the oil and gas industry.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, it was concluded that only one government agency had been affected by the non-implementation of 2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement.

It was agreed that the National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission and the Budget and National Planning Ministry would make corrections to be effective from March 1, 2015.

The talks also covered the planned restructuring of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency; Department of Petroleum Resources; Nigeria Content Development Management Board; Petroleum Training Institute; and Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Agency; Petroleum Equalisation Fund; and Petroleum Technology Development Fund.

PENGASSAN said the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, assured the oil workers that the restructuring exercise had been done in the mentioned agencies and no jobs were lost. – Punch.