The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has suspended its strike against Dangote Refinery following an agreement to reinstate workers dismissed for union membership.
The resolution was reached after a two-day meeting between the Federal Government, PENGASSAN, and Dangote Group, held on Monday and Tuesday. The Labour and Employment Minister, Muhammad Dingyadi, urged both parties to uphold workers’ rights under Nigerian law, including the freedom to unionise.
A joint communique outlined three key agreements: immediate reabsorption of the sacked workers, suspension of the strike, and a commitment to prevent victimisation of employees involved in the dispute.
“The Dangote Group management will immediately start the process of taking the disengaged staff to other companies within the Dangote Group, with no loss of pay,” the statement read. It added that no worker would face retaliation over their role in the standoff.
PENGASSAN confirmed it would begin the process of formally calling off the strike. The industrial action, announced on Sunday, had directed members to cut crude oil and gas supply to the refinery after workers were dismissed for joining the union.
The agreement signals a temporary end to the standoff that threatened operations at Africa’s largest refinery.
