PENGASSAN: Petroleum & Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria
http://www.pengassan.org/index.HTM
Membership of PENGASSAN is drawn from senior and middle management employees in various oil and gas companies in Nigeria. Each company registered by the National Secretariat constitutes a branch of PENGASSAN. Currently, we have 98 branches with total members of 20,100.
“Time has come for labour to have a rethink and a rebirth, if we do not want to be swallowed by the negative impact of global processes. Staying afloat will depend on our strength, unity, focus and proactive fight against injustices and not against ourselves, for a house divided against itself can never stand. If the advanced nations want us to accept their pills of globalization, then they must be transparent, fair, just and objective in adaptation of globalization ideals to the reality of our background. They must come to equity with clean hands and stop seeing Africa as a dumping ground for imperialists left over.”
“A worker without a future and a say in matters relating to his own growth is a slave.”
“In a world of mergers and acquisitions, labour is de-merging; where governments are coming together in unity as the European Union, African Union, on the other hand labour sings songs of disunity.”
–Dr. Louis Brown Ogbeifun [President’s Address Feb. 26-27, 2004]
“Instead of thinking about building more refineries as a proactive strategy, the leadership found it more auspicious to invest in the importation of fuel. The end effect of the above was a total collapse of the refineries.”
“For the refineries to work efficiently there must be:
§ Reduction of government’s interference in the operational processes
§ Resolution of all Niger Delta problems to guarantee crude supplies.
§ contracts to be signed by the management of the refineries with successful TAM in using both the government and stick approach
§ Turn Around Maintenance to be done on schedule using the builders and refinery workers
§ Retaining of operations staff whose fears of neflects might have a damaging effect on productivity
§ Building of more refineries by government and leasing them to private operators. After all Kuwait and Venezualla successful refineries are run this way. This is to gradually and ultimately make Nigeria a net exporter of finished petroleum products.
§ Encouraging private investors to build refineries
§ Legislation to compel multinational companies to refine part of their crude locally and encourage exportation of our products.”
“Government must reach out on constructive engagement, to give the people a sense of belonging. Government in dealing with the situation in Niger Delta must use a four prung approach involving political, economical, social and security instruments, rather than criminalizing everything done in the Niger Delta.”
“While commending the multinational companies for the huge sums being expended, there tends to be a disconnection between them and the people. Contracts must be executed in qualitative terms. There must be persistent dialogue and not using damage control measures in times of crisis. Even in peace time, MNC must keep the flame of dialogue aglow. The usage of the indigenes as contract and casual staff must be discouraged. There is need to dignify labour.”
“Oil spillage must be properly managed to prevent depredation of the environment. Spillage must be accurately and promptly reported.”
“The youths must also lay down their arms, learn to resolve issues through constructive dialogue and engage government more meaningfully in areas of infrastructural development. The attitude of some youth portrays them as being interested only in multi-million naira which is to be shared and which undermines the objective of the struggles of the genuine Nationalists who are fighting for the emancipation of the Niger Delta from the shackles of oppression, manipulation and marginalization.”
“The fighters after the tribal wars usually have no more jobs and this leads them into evil vices such as piracy, hostage taking and seeking ransome, venting their anger on oil locations, killing of oil workers e.t.c.”
“With methodical patience, constructive engagement, transparency and sincerity of purpose, the problems of the Niger Delta can be resolved without further blood shed.”
–BREAKING THE CIRCUIT OF FUEL INCREASES BY DR. BROWN OGBEIFUN, June 6, 2004
NLC: Nigeria Labor Congress
http://www.nlcng.org/affiliateunions.htm
“The NLC reiterates its position that the nation can maintain the old prices of fuel by using a fraction of excess crude earnings to stabilize domestic prices. Nigerians had voted for democracy and good governance to assure their welfare, and therefore cannot subject their fate and well being to the vagaries of so-called market forces that translate to profiteering by marketers and lining the pockets of corrupt government officials.”
–Salihu M. Lukman, Acting General Secretary NLC, June 18, 2004
“I have had to make enormous sacrifices. There is the disruption of my family life through frequent travels. The more serious is the setbacks on the job. Following a strike in 1999, myself and other union executives were posted out of JUTH. I was sent to a comprehensive health centre in Gindiri, a remote village, as a vengeful gesture by management. They thought this would immobilize me and subvert my union work.
“While in Gindiri I stayed two years without an office, only just reporting for work and staying under the tree. I was provided with a place that is not up to a toilet in my house, but was still kicked out. This is my fifth year there. I still stay in a house with a pit toilet and without light and water.
“But I am not deterred. The message to women in unions is never to be deterred by hurdles and de-motivators.”
–MRS. LADI ILIYA , VICE PRESIDENT, NIGERIA LABOUR CONGRESS (NLC)
Undated Press Clip:
Labour Minister Indicts Multinational Firms
From Juliana Taiwo in Abuja
Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Muha-mmed Hassan Lawal, has accused multinational companies operating in the country of massive repatriation of their profits to their home countries leaving nothing behind for Nigeria.
The Minister made the accusation when the management of Heineken from the Netherlands paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja yesterday.
Lawal regretted that after over 60 years of the company’s operations in Nigeria with about N40 billion annual turnover, not much of that was ploughed back into the Nigerian economy.
“Multinational companies have been known to make so much money in the country only to take it away to their own country for further development leaving us, the host country to suffer”, he said.
Lawal stressed that henceforth his Ministry would insist on communities hosting any multinational to be fully compensated in terms of improving their housing needs, education of their children and social life. He also promised to regularly embark on facility visits to these areas to ascertain things for himself.
Report on Strike Action of June/July 2003:
“The strike action lasted eight grueling days. In terms of scope ,duration and effect, it goes down in contemporary Nigerian labour history as the most effective and the most costly too. Over sixteen lives were lost nation-wide and earnings in hundreds of billions were lost in the private sector alone ( according to MAN) as the nation was completely shut down.”
Nigerian Press
NgEx.Com List of Media Online
http://www.ngex.com/news/newspapers.htm
AllAfrica
http://allafrica.com/
BNW: BiafraNigeriaWorld
http://news.biafranigeriaworld.com/
Daily Champion
http://www.champion-newspapers.com/
Daily Independent
http://www.independentng.com/
Daily Sun
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/
Daily Times
http://www.dailytimesofnigeria.com/
NewsWatch
http://newswatchngr.com/
Nigeria World
http://nigeriaworld.com/
Guardian
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/
This Day
http://www.thisdayonline.com/
Vanguard
http://www.vanguardngr.com/
MoPress 
Leave a comment