The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has declared the senator representing Edo North and former president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Adams Oshiomhole, a personal non grata over his stance on the faceoff between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) and the Dangote Refinery.
Senator Oshiomhole had faulted the industrial action embarked upon by PENGASSANy which resulted in a nationwide shutdown of oil facilities.
The lawmaker described the move as hasty and unfair to other workers, when he appeared on Arise TV last Friday.
He noted that while unions have the right to defend workers, they must do so in ways that do not create wider economic hardship.
“I think that in seeking to protect a particular set of workers, you do not then risk the jobs of several other workers. When you are pursuing a dispute, the tools you deploy must be such that they do not undermine other people’s jobs.”
But, in a statement by Williams Akporeha and Afolabi Olawale, president and general secretary, respectively, NUPENG declared Oshiomhole’s position as a betrayal of labour principles and a distortion of established laws.
In the statement entitled: ‘“Senator Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole undistinguished anti-worker vitriol,’ the leadership of NUPENG accused the former Edo State governor of betraying the cause of workers by closing his eyes to the sack of over 800 workers but chose to fault the method of shutdown of oil stations by PENGASSAN.
“We witness with utter disappointment a former labour leader now transformed into a vocal advocate for corporate oppression, actively campaigning against the very rights he once championed. His attempts to rationalise the victimisation of workers for exercising their fundamental rights of association and peaceful action are not only nauseating but represent a flagrant misrepresentation of Nigerian Labour Law and International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions.”
“Oshiomhole’s criticism of PENGASSAN’s strike is an act of profound historical revisionism and political amnesia.
“Section 31 of the Trade Unions Act, Cap T14, LFN 2004 legally recognised trade disputes, including industrial actions undertaken by workers in sympathy with another group.
“PENGASSAN’s solidarity action with their members in Dangote Refinery is, therefore, a protected legal action.
“The principle that an injury to one is an injury to all is the foundational ethic of trade unionism globally.
“For some undistinguished senators to now find this principle inconvenient only reveals a trading off of once avowed class consciousness for a place among the oppressors. Senator Oshiomhole’s alarmist rhetoric about harming the wider economy is the same tired argument used by every anti-labour entity he once fought against. It was a valid tactic when he led numerous strikes as NLC president; it remains valid today.
“Shockingly, this was a man that served several times in the Governing Council of ILO and in the Committee on Application of Standards that receives reports on violations of workers’ rights across the world. It is unfortunate that Senator Oshiomhole has, by his comments, demonstrated a monumental ignorance of trade unionism.
“The unity displayed by PENGASSAN members and the solidarity they received and continue to receive from other unions, nationally and internationally, are the twin pillars upon which the labour movement is built,” the statement read.
While insisting that the former NLC president’s stance amounted to a betrayal of Nigerian workers, NUPENG declared that it would no longer partake in any labour event in which Oshiomhole would feature.
“The leadership of NUPENG hereby declares Oshiomhole persona non grata within the ranks of Nigerian oil and gas workers for the undistinguished denunciation of the PENGASSAN strike against the unjustifiable sack of 800 engineers as punishment for exercising the fundamental right of unionism.
“The practical effect of declaring Oshiomhole persona non grata within the ranks of oil and gas workers in Nigeria is that henceforth, we will not participate in or lend legitimacy to any event featuring Senator Oshiomhole. The NLC, TUC and civil society organisations should kindly take notice.
“Oshiomhole’s denunciation and insensitivity to the plight of 800 engineers and resistance to unionism in the petroleum and gas sector is a dangerous toxin designed to weaken the resolve of the working class and strengthen the class enemy. NUPENG stands unwaveringly with PENGASSAN and the over 800 unjustly dismissed workers.
“We will continue to deploy every legal and industrial instrument available to us, in full compliance with the Nigerian law and global labour standards to secure justice.
“The undistinguished position of Oshiomhole on the PENGASSAN strike qualifies him as the Judas Iscariot of Nigerian trade unionism.
“What a monumental betrayal of the cause of the working class. We advise Senator Oshiomhole to retire from commenting on labour matters, as he has irretrievably lost the moral right and legitimacy before the Nigerian workers, and particularly oil and gas workers.”
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