NLC Backs NUPENG, Threatens Nationwide Strike Against Dangote
… Accuses group of anti-union practices, exploitation
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has thrown its weight behind the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) in its dispute with the Dangote Group, directing workers nationwide to brace for possible solidarity action.
NUPENG had earlier announced plans to begin a nationwide strike tomorrow, citing what it described as Dangote’s “anti-union practices, monopolistic agenda, and indecent industrial relations strategies.”
In a statement signed by its President, Joe Ajaero, the NLC accused the conglomerate of consistent union-busting, exploitative labour practices, and monopolistic control of key sectors, including petroleum products, to the detriment of Nigerian workers and citizens.
“We will not stand by while one conglomerate seeks to enslave the Nigerian working class and trample on the hard-won rights of unions,” Ajaero declared, calling on the Federal Government to compel Aliko Dangote and Sayyu Dantata to comply with Nigerian labour laws and international conventions.
The NLC alleged that Dangote companies thrive on casualisation, low wages, unsafe working conditions, and denial of workers’ rights to freely join trade unions, warning that such practices amount to “a dangerous road to fascism in industrial relations.”
It further accused the company of recruiting foreign workers at the expense of qualified Nigerians, exploiting scarcity to raise prices, and undermining the promise of job creation and industrial growth.
“The attack on NUPENG is an attack on the Nigerian working class,” the NLC said, insisting that if Dangote fails to reverse its anti-worker policies, it will mobilize all affiliates for a nationwide strike.
The labour centre urged the government and regulatory bodies to intervene immediately, warning that history will hold them complicit if they allow “a few individuals to privatize the nation’s energy future and enslave its workforce.”
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