JUST-IN: Court Stops PENGASSAN’s Nationwide Strike

The National Industrial Court sitting in Abuja has on Monday, issued an interim order stopping the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) from continuing with its nationwide industrial action.

PENGASSAN has embarked upon strike on Monday to protest the alleged sack of about 800 workers of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals.

The presiding judge, Justice Emmanuel Sublim, who granted the order on Monday, said the strike was meant to disrupt the operations by cutting crude and gas supplies to the refinery.

Justice Sublim held that the strike was capable of causing serious damage to the nation’s economy, therefore ordered the Association to stop the strike forthwith.

The ruling followed an ex-parte application filed by the Refinery’s counsel, Mr. George Ibrahim, SAN.

In the same vein, the court equally restrained key regulatory bodies comprising Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) from enforcing any directive by PENGASSAN to halt crude oil and gas supply to the refinery.

Justice Sublim said the court agreed with the Refinery’s submission that the strike could cause irreparable damage if not promptly addressed.

The court further directed that the restraining order and suit be served on all defendants without delay. The matter has been adjourned till October 13 for hearing of the motion on notice.

Meanwhile, the leadership of Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has thrown its weight behind PENGASSAN.

In its statement sent to LEADERSHIP on Monday, ASCSN President, Comrade Shehu Mohammed, expressed total solidarity with the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and PENGASSAN in condemning the unjust and anti-labour practices reportedly carried out by the management of the Refinery.

“The arbitrary dismissal of workers for exercising their constitutional right to freely associate and belong to a trade union is a gross violation of Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution and a direct breach of Nigeria’s obligations under International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions.

“Such acts are unacceptable and cannot be tolerated in a democracy. We,
therefore, stand shoulder-to-shoulder with TUC and PENGASSAN in demanding the immediate reinstatement of all affected workers just as we support the call for an independent investigation into the refinery’s anti-worker practices,” Mohammed said.

He further warned that if the matter was not resolved within a reasonable time frame, ASCSN may be compelled to join the national action in full force, in defence of workers’ rights and to ensure that justice is done.