Nigeria oil workers suspend nationwide strike

Nigeria’s oil workers’ unions have suspended their nationwide strike. They had embarked on the action to protest several unresolved issues with the government, including unfair labour practices and non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill. The decision to call-off the strike was arrived Friday morning in a close-door meeting in Abuja between representatives of the union and the Federal Government delegation.

The meeting which began last night lasted over 12 hours. A joint communique was issued at the end of the meeting by the leaders of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the government’s delegation led by the Supervising Labour Minister, Tanimu Turaki.

According to officials of the NUPENG and the PENGASSAN, the government have refused to implement agreements reached with the unions on these issues.