Workers of Addax Petroleum Development Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of Addax Petroleum, have announced the commencement of an indefinite strike action against the Management of the company.
The workers’ action was sequel to the expiration of the ultimatum the company’s chapter of PENGASSAN gave the management led by Mr. Klappa over “some unresolved burning issues.”
The strike action involves the 166 members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) staff from the company and 98 others who are management staff.
This industrial action may threaten the country’s oil output as the company currently produces 30,000 barrels daily of oil from its offshore and onshore locations in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Asaba, Warri, and Izombe in the Niger Delta. The country currently produces approximately 2.25 million per barrel daily.
Chris Ogiewonyi, chairman PENGASSAN at Addax said the indefinite action was a culmination of a series of failed and inconclusive communications between the workers’ union and the management over alleged “culture of impunity against some of its officials.
He listed some of the issues to include:
- Alleged unilateral interpretation of the subsisting collective bargaining agreement (CBA) reached between the union and management in August 2014 on issues bordering on activation of non-statutory remunerations to members.
- Alleged selective, targeted victimization of union leaders identified as not working in line with management interest.
- The stagnation of some staff for between 10 to 12 years, and discriminatory promotion of workers.
Addax Petroleum was originally part of the Addax and Oryx Group of Companies (AOG) which were established in 1987, but the company became an independent entity in 1994.
In August 2009, it was bought over by Sinopec, the world’s biggest oil refiner. Addax was initially focused on the oil and gas in the Middle East, the North Sea, and Africa, but has recently focused its effort on West Africa. In 2017, the company’s former chief executive was arrested and tried for corrupt practices he allegedly carried out while working in Nigeria.
