Hot SourceThe Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has expressed dismay over the recent comments made by Senator Adams Oshiomhole on national TV, describing it as a reprehensible assault on the fundamental rights of Nigerian workers and a gross distortion of established labour laws.
The leadership of NUPENG said that it has declared Senator Adams Oshiomhole Persona Non Grata within the ranks of Nigerian oil and gas workers for the undistinguished denunciation of the PENGASSAN strike against the unjustifiable sack of 800 engineers as punishment for exercising the fundamental right of unionism.
To practical effect to this decision, the union said that henceforth, it will not participate in or lend legitimacy to any event featuring Senator Oshiomhole.
A statement jointly signed by NUPENG president, Comrade Williams Akporeha and General Secretary, Comrade Afolabi Olawale, accused Oshiomhole of attempting to rationalise the victimisation of workers for exercising their fundamental rights of association and peaceful action.
“We witness with utter disappointment a former labour leader now transformed into a vocal advocate for corporate oppression, actively campaigning against the very rights he once championed.
“His attempts to rationalise the victimisation of workers for exercising their fundamental rights of association and peaceful action are not only nauseating but represent a flagrant misrepresentation of Nigerian Labour Law and International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions.
“First, it is the height of irony that we are compelled to ask whether the description of Senator Oshiomhole allegedly by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, at a dinner organized by Nigeria Labor Congress during one of its Delegates Conference as “a Comrade in the morning and a politician by night” is true.
“If former President Obasanjo’s description of Senator Oshiomhole is true, we are compelled to ask if such a person qualifies to lecture anyone on strategy and/or morality,” said NUPENG.
The union added: “Indeed, how would a person who once advised alleged corrupt politicians to join the APC to have their sins forgiven have the effrontery to sermonise on morality.
“It also speaks volumes to the character of Senator Oshiomhole claiming falsely to have relinquished his position as General Secretary of National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) upon becoming NLC President.
“It is beyond controversy that Mr. Adams Oshiomhole held on to the positions of NLC President and General Secretary of NUTGWN from 1999-2007, and he did not relinquish the position of the General Secretary until 2008, one full year after leaving NLC Presidency,” it said.
NUPENG said that it, ‘appears to be a pathological tendency on the part of the Senator to rewrite history to suit his current reactionary advocacy for the unconscionable capitalists who are not prepared to accommodate trade unions, in preference for slave labour.
For clarity, we restate the unequivocal provisions of the law:
Regarding the issue of unionisation, NUPENG said that Section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) guarantees every person, meaning citizens and foreigners (not only citizens) in Nigeria, the right to freedom of association and assembly.
Also it said that Section 9(6) of the Labour Act, Cap L1, LFN 2004 expressly forbids any contract that attempts to exclude a worker from trade union membership.
In addition, NUPENG said that the ILO Convention 87 (Freedom of Association) and Convention 98 (Right to Collective Bargaining), both of which have been ratified by Nigeria, affirm that workers have the right to form and join unions of their choice without interference for bargaining purposes.
“The mass dismissal of workers for unionising is a blatant violation of these core international standards, which have become constitutional provisions by virtue of Section 254C (1) & (2) of the 1999 Constitution,” it said.
