Pengassan and Nupeng: Oil Unions Kick-off Strike Nationwide

Two main oil workers' unions in Nigeria have begun a nationwide strike, threatening to hurt the output of Africa's largest oil producer. The unions, Pengassan and Nupeng, said the strike would continue until the government addressed its concerns. These include the adoption of the delayed Petroleum Industry Bill, aimed at overhauling the sector and maintenance work on oil refineries. The unions frequently go on strike or threaten to strike.

"We've commenced the strike. It will affect oil production, since all operations are on strike," Pengassan chief Babatunde Oke told Reuters. However, an oil executive said the strike was not expected to affect output, because it would require the co-operation of large numbers of workers at production sites who would be unwilling to go that far.

"It's very difficult to shut them down, and once they do, it would take them a week to get them back up. They never do it. That's the last thing anyone wants," an oil executive told Reuters.

"The refineries are not suddenly going to be fixed because of this strike. Some oil industry watchers suggest the unions are simply trying to force the government to pay them off and get a hefty Christmas present," he added.