PENGASSAN NEC reviews progress, calls for action on wages
By Matthew Denis
The President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Comrade Festus Osifo briefed journalists on the resolutions of the association’s National Executive Council (NEC) which centres on tackling salary wage
He made at the NEC-in-Session conducted a thorough review of developments in the oil and gas industry, assessing both the gains recorded since the first NEC meeting of the year and the challenges confronting members across various branches.
According to him, the union examined post-divestment issues following the wave of asset divestments by international oil companies. He noted that one of PENGASSAN’s major achievements was successfully managing the divestment process without mass layoffs.
“We are quite happy that despite the divestments, we navigated the process without wide-scale job losses,” Osifo said. “This is a significant success for us and for our members.”
The PENGASSAN president also disclosed that several new Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) were concluded across different branches, including in government agencies, the IOC segment, services, and marketing sectors. He said the agreements have brought relief and renewed confidence to workers.
However, Osifo lamented the severe economic challenges workers face, particularly as a result of naira devaluation and runaway inflation. He explained that the oil and gas sector remains competitive globally due to the universal nature of its skills—making Nigerian professionals easily employable anywhere in the world.
“A drilling engineer in Nigeria performs the same job as a drilling engineer in the United States or Abu Dhabi. The same goes for well-performance engineers. If we fail to close the widening pay gap caused by devaluation, the brain drain in our industry will dwarf what is being seen in other sectors,” he warned.
Osifo stressed that oil and gas companies must urgently adjust remuneration to reflect current economic realities. While acknowledging that some companies have complied, he criticized others for refusing to adjust salaries despite the harsh financial climate.
“We call on those companies still holding back to do the needful. We will continue to push — without backing down — until fair and competitive remuneration is implemented for our members,” he said.
The NEC also reviewed lingering industrial challenges in some PENGASSAN branches, including issues at Port Harcourt Refinery and Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals. Osifo said the association has held extensive engagements with the management of these companies but many issues remain unresolved.
“The NEC resolved to continue to pursue dialogue with management and engage all social partners and stakeholders to ensure these matters are concluded. We hope these issues are resolved at the negotiation table, because we do not want to return to an era of avoidable industrial crises,” he added.
On national issues, Osifo raised concerns over the worsening state of security across Nigeria, noting that recent incidents underscore the urgent need for government intervention.