The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has threatened to mobilise a nationwide strike in solidarity with the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) in its dispute with the Dangote Group, accusing the conglomerate of anti-union practices, poor labour conditions and monopolistic conduct.
In a statement signed by the NLC president, Comrade Joe Ajaero yesterday, the labour centre alleged that Dangote Industries had continued to frustrate workers’ rights by preventing unionisation, casualising labour and engaging in practices that undermine fair competition in critical sectors of the economy.
The NLC said the grievances raised by NUPENG represent more than an attack on petroleum workers, stating it was a declaration of war against the Nigerian working class, trade unionism and the principle of decent work.
According to the congress, Dangote Group has systematically denied workers their constitutional right to freedom of association by forcing them into company unions, while also maintaining one of the lowest wage structures in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
It further accused the company of employing foreign nationals over qualified Nigerians and exploiting state concessions to entrench monopolies across industries, including cement, sugar, flour and now petroleum products.
The labour body urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene, warning that continued tolerance of Dangote’s alleged excesses could erode the foundations of collective bargaining and worsen poverty in the country.
“The Nigerian people were promised that the Dangote Refinery would create jobs and deepen industrialisation, instead, what we are witnessing is the classic playbook of primitive capitalism as the group resorts to monopolistic capture, using state backing to eliminate competition and dominate entire sectors”, Ajaero said.
The NLC declared it was placing all state councils and affiliate unions on red alert and vowed to support NUPENG’s proposed industrial action if the Dangote Group fails to halt what it described as “reckless anti-union practices.”
It added that history would hold government institutions, particularly the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority, responsible if they continued to “look the other way while a few individuals privatise the nation’s energy future and enslave its workforce.”
“The attack on NUPENG is an attack on us all. The NLC without equivocation states that Nigerian workers are not slaves and cannot be serially abused without consequences.
“Our constitution and international conventions guarantee our right to organize, collectively bargain and defend our dignity at work. The NLC will resist every attempt by the Dangote Group to roll back these rights”, Ajaero said.
“We warn that if Dangote continues on this reckless anti-union path, the NLC and its affiliates will move beyond words to action. We will confront this tyranny head-on until victory is secured for Nigerian workers and the Nigerian people.
“Let it be clearly understood, if the Dangote Group does not immediately halt its anti-union and anti-people agenda, the we will not hesitate to mobilise all workers across the length and breadth of this country for actions and solidarity necessary to protect our dignity and to defend Nigeria from the clutches of monopoly capital.
Our solidarity is not negotiable. We will fight because we must. The working class must not be sacrificed on the altar of corporate greed”.
