There seems to be uncertainty over the move to stop plan strike by Petroleum Products tanker drivers , as the closed-door meeting organised by the Federal Government to broker peace between the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Dangote Group ended in a deadlock.
The meeting led by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Mohammed Dingyadi, as well as the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkiruka Onyejeocha,was initiated as part of efforts to resolve the industrial dispute between the two parties to avert the planned industrial action by NUPENG.
The National Executives of NUPENG and officials of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) were among those present at the meeting
Also present was the Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Ogbugo Ukoha, as well as representatives of the Dangote Group and MRS Petroleum.
NUPENG had last Friday announced that its members would cease work from September 8 in protest against alleged moves by the Dangote Refinery to prevent its compressed natural gas (CNG) tanker drivers from joining labour unions.
Although both the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) and the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association (DTCDA) distanced themselves from the planned action, NUPENG reaffirmed on Sunday that it would proceed with the industrial action.
Worried by the impact of the planned strike, the Federal Government on Sunday urged the union to reconsider its decision.
Dingyadi, in a statement signed by the ministry’s head of information, Patience Onuobia, appealed to NUPENG to suspend the strike and give room for dialogue.
The Minister of Labour and Employment also called on the NLC to withdraw the red alert it issued to affiliate unions, which directed them to prepare for solidarity action against what they described as “anti-worker and anti-union practices” by the Dangote Group.
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