President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Comrade Festus Osifo, has revealed that the union has successfully negotiated wage increase of up to 300 per cent for some oil and gas workers.
Osifo said that the union’s ongoing push for fair wage in the sector was in response to rising inflation, Naira devaluation and economic challenges faced by Nigerian workers, particularly in the oil and gas industry.
The labour leader, who spoke while addressing delegates at the 2025 PENGASSAN Women Annual Convention (PWAC) held in Abuja on Monday, noted that since inflation started biting hard, the union has been carrying out Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations across board with tangible results.
He disclosed that some companies in the oil and gas sector have implemented nearly 300% salary increments and many others have seen increases above 200%.
“Since this inflation came, since this inflation started, we’ve been doing CBA negotiations across board and there have been tremendous response we’ve had since 2023, we have some companies in PENGASSAN that have done close to 300% salary increment.
“So, it’s been success stories from one branch to another, from one company to another. So, the response or the push that we have given to the management in oil and gas company is second to none. And we’ll continuously do that.
“So for us in PENGASSAN, we are not even talking about 70,000 naira, we are talking about the effect of devaluation,” Osifo said.
Speaking at the convention themed “She Powers the Future: Driving Industry Transformation, Leadership and Technology”, the PENGASSAN president also contrasted the union’s success with the broader national wage realities.
While PENGASSAN workers have experienced significant wage adjustments, many workers in the public sector and other industries, he noted, continued to face stagnant wages amid rising living costs.
Osifo further offered a mixed assessment of President Bola Tinubu administration’s economic performance in two years, scoring him modest gains in some sectors but lamented widespread economic hardship for most Nigerians.
“It’s a mixed feeling, while macroeconomic policies may look promising on paper, their impact on household incomes, food prices, education and healthcare remain limited,” he added.
Earlier, Comrade Maryann Ada Mbanaso, National Chairperson of the PENGASSAN Women Commission, emphasised the commission’s commitment to raising a new generation of women leaders capable of reshaping the industry and public policy.
“The future is women. The energy industry is women. If the door is closed, we will open it ourselves, we have all it takes to change the narrative and the dynamics of the industry.
“This year’s theme reflects our mission: to change our world, to raise leaders, and to claim our seat at the table. If the doors are closed to us, we will open them ourselves,” Mbanaso declared.
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