Dangote Group has reached an agreement to redeploy employees sacked by its subsidiary, Dangote Petroleum Refinery, following peace talks facilitated by the federal government.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Ministry of Labour and Employment, in a statement on Wednesday, said the resolution came after reconciliation meetings held on Monday and Tuesday.
At the session, Aliko Dangote, chairman of the group, and representatives of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) met with Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, and Mohammed Dingyadi, minister of labour and employment, to address the dispute.
According to the ministry, all disengaged employees will be absorbed into other subsidiaries within the conglomerate without any reduction in pay. It added that workers’ rights to unionisation were reaffirmed in line with Nigerian labour laws.
The statement reads, “ The Honourable Minister of Labour informed the meeting that unionisation is a right of workers in accordance with the laws of Nigeria and that this right should be respected.”
“After examining the procedure used in the disengagement of workers, the meeting agreed that the management of Dangote Group shall immediately start the process of taking the disengaged staff to other companies within the Dangote Group, with no loss of pay.”
The parties further agreed that no employee would face victimisation over their involvement in the standoff. PENGASSAN, in turn, committed to begin the process of suspending its nationwide strike.
The strike had been declared on September 26 in protest against the refinery’s dismissal of staff.
