Oil And Gas Workers Halt Strike Action
By Emmanuel Awosika
Workers in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry have suspended the three-day strike action they had embarked on to demand for remittance of unpaid salaries.
The workers, who are members of labour unions in the oil and gas sector including the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria and National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas, suspended the strike after meetings with the Federal Government.
The National Public Relations Officer, PENGASSAN, confirmed the suspension to journalists early on Tuesday morning.
He said, “Strike suspended as Federal Government agrees to pay the owed salaries while the IPPS (Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System) is sorted out in the future.”
Last week, senior members of the PENGASSAN attached to Ministry of Petroleum Resources and other agencies had begun a three-day strike to protest the government’s refusal to pay them salaries for three months.
The workers also indicated they were protesting the FG’s decision to include oil and gas workers in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
However, reports suggest members of PENGASSAN and NUPENG had come to an agreement with the Federal Government at a meeting with the Accountant-General of the Federation yesterday night in Abuja.
Per the terms of the agreement, the FG would pay the three months’ worth of salaries owed the workers via the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System platform.
The two parties had also agreed that a new date would be selected for a meeting between the unions and the FG over the issues surrounding the inclusion of oil and gas workers on the IPPIS platform.
