In an exclusive interview with The Nigerian Tribune correspondent, Comrade Benson Upah, the Acting General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), explained the issues behind the ongoing face-off between Dangote Refinery and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), stressing that the right of workers to unionise must never be compromised.
During the meeting with the management of Dangote Refinery, they were asked what reasons had been given for refusing to allow workers to join NUPENG or any other union. In response, it was explained that the management had presented its position on why it opposed the workers’ unionisation.
He said, “The management of Dangote Refinery was very direct during the meeting, which lasted several hours. They insisted that NUPENG would not be allowed to unionize their workers for two main reasons.”
He explained that, during the meeting with the Dangote Refinery management, the company had first claimed that it already provided excellent welfare packages for its employees—including good pay, pension schemes, health insurance, and other benefits—and therefore saw no need for union representation.
He stated that they made it clear to the management that NUPENG was not an employer of labour, but rather a body tasked with unionising workers and collectively defending their rights and interests, not replacing management functions.
He added that the refinery’s management had also argued that the facility was located in an Export Processing Zone (EPZ), going so far as to state bluntly that the refinery was “not on Nigerian territory,” which, in their view, meant that Nigerian labour laws did not fully apply there.
He recounted that they challenged this position by asking whether the law establishing EPZs suspended the Nigerian Constitution or the Labour Act within those zones.
According to him, they further pointed out that if the company truly believed national laws did not apply, then international labour laws would take precedence—and those laws equally guaranteed workers the right to unionise.
In the end, he said Dangote Refinery could not provide any proof that the Nigerian Constitution or labour laws were suspended in EPZs, and their argument eventually collapsed.Continue, Full, Reading>>>>
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