By Abubakar Yunusa
The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has called on the management of Dangote refinery to reverse the employment termination of “over 800 Nigerian employees”.
On September 27, PENGASSAN instructed its members to embark on a nationwide strike over the dismissal of the workers.
Speaking on Channels Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’, Nuhu Toro, the secretary-general of TUC, said the refinery violated the constitutional rights of the affected workers.
“The Dangote and PENGASSAN rift concerns the TUC because PENGASSAN is an affiliate of the TUC, and there is no way they can beat your child, and the father stays aloof,” he said.
“Even the last meeting that was held on the 8th of September at the Ministry of Labour office, both PENGASSAN and the TUC were represented.
“We demand the reversal of the arbitrary dismissal of over 800 workers by Dangote. If that is done, the next thing that we demand is a public apology from the Dangote refinery management, with an assurance that such won’t be used against the union in the future.”
On September 26, PENGASSAN said the refinery laid off over 800 workers, noting that the group was working to “resolve” the issue.
The Dangote refinery later confirmed sacking some workers, saying that “only a small number were affected”, describing the move as a reorganisation exercise.
Following the announcement, PENGASSAN urged the management of the refinery “to recall all terminated Nigerian workers”.
On September 28, the Dangote refinery said the union’s strike was aimed at weaponising hardship against Nigerians.
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