The head office opera­tions at Addax Petro­leum were halted in Lagos on Wednesday by the leadership of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff As­sociation of Nigeria (PEN­GASSAN) protesting alleged anti-labour activities of the company.
Members of the union, including workers of the oil company, gathered at the en­trance to its offices at around 6a.m. chanting labour solidar­ity songs and alleging that the management engages in anti-labour practices.
According to a statement by PENGASSAN, signed by its Media Officer, Mr. Babatunde Oke and made available to Daily Sun, “the oil company was insensitive to the health and safety concerns of its workers in operational areas, career progression and devel­opment as well as undue delay of the ongoing collective bar­gaining agreement, which has been on for eight months.”
The workers were demand­ing that the company’s man­agement should address all health and safety concerns and promotion issues raised in the agreement.
Addressing the members of the branch, the PENGASSAN branch Chairman in Addax Petroleum, Kingsley Onoyom, accused the management of high-handedness on issues of health and safety of the work­ers.
“We have registered our concern over the offshore transportation system and feeding at the Izombe Flow Station but the management has refused to do anything to fix the problem,” he said.
He alleged that many of the members have not been pro­moted in the last eight years, while some are on the same job without promotion for 15 years. Onoyom further stated: “We have done everything to ensure that the management concludes the negotiation on our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that com­menced since November last year, but instead it has contin­ued to delay the CBA and this is affecting our morale and pro­ductivity.
“When our national secre­tariat (PENGASSAN National Secretariat) tried to mediate and ensure that the negotiation continues and concluded early, the management embarrassed our national officers by deny­ing them entry.”
The Lagos Zonal Chair­man of PENGASSAN, Abel Agarin, said the management should fix a meeting for the conclusion of the prolonged CBA negotiation for Friday and there must be a commit­ment from the it to meet all the demands of the workers before suspending the picketing.
Reacting to the picketing ac­tion by labour, the company’s Representative II, Communi­cations, Micheal Nwhoko, said the company regrets to confirm the public demonstration led by the Lagos Zone of PEN­GASSAN at the office.
“The demonstration is as a result of industrial relations is­sues between the management and the association. Engage­ments are ongoing at the na­tional, zonal and branch levels of PENGASSAN to reach am­icable resolutions in the interest of all parties.

PENGASSAN pickets Addax Petroleum over anti-labour policies