The Federal Government announced that the Dangote Group will redeploy refinery workers who were recently disengaged, following the resolution of its standoff with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
The Labour and Employment Minister, Dr Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi, confirmed that the redeployed employees will not suffer any loss of pay during the transition.
He explained that, “After examining the procedure used in the disengagement of workers, the meeting agreed that the management of Dangote Group shall immediately begin the process of redeploying the disengaged staff to other companies within the Dangote Group, with no loss of pay.” He added that “no worker will be victimised arising from their role in the impasse between Dangote and PENGASSAN.”
According to the minister, both parties reached a compromise that will see PENGASSAN begin the process of calling off its industrial action. “PENGASSAN agreed to start the process of calling off the strike. Both parties agreed to this understanding in good faith,” Dingyadi said, noting that the government had to intervene to protect economic stability and energy security.
The union had embarked on a strike after accusing Dangote Refinery management of mass transfers, unlawful dismissals, and replacing Nigerian workers with foreign staff. The strike disrupted gas and crude oil supplies to the refinery, fueling fears of possible energy shortages in the country.
The refinery’s management denied violating labour laws, insisting the workforce changes were strictly operational and unrelated to union activities. But the company’s hard stance and the union’s resistance pushed negotiations into deadlock earlier this week, until the federal government convened emergency conciliation talks.
The labour minister emphasized that “unionisation is a right of workers in accordance with the laws of Nigeria, and this right should be respected.” With redeployment agreed, the dispute that threatened to undermine Nigeria’s refining sector and broader economic confidence now appears to be easing.
