Last week, Babatunde Ogun handed over the presidency of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) after the end of his tenure.
A few days to the delegates’ conference that produced the new man, he told TheNiche that local investors are the worst oppressors of Nigerian workers, accusing them of violating collective bargain agreements (CBAs) and suppressing unionism and workers’ welfare.
He said Nigerian investors oppress labour unions and fellow citizens more than expatriates, warning that it is not enough for the government to privatise enterprises without CBAs.
Below are more excerpts from the interview with Assistant Business Editor, KELECHI MGBOJI.
Unfair treatment of workers by banks
Babatunde Ogun
“Hardly could you find any Nigerian company where unions operate. They suppress unions and oppress workers. It is only multinationals that will sit down and engage labour to resolve contentious issues,” Ogun lamented.
He zeroed in on banks, accusing them of inhuman labour practices.
“Virtually all the banks we have are owned by Nigerians and you can hardly see any effective unionism in the banks. They practise contract staffing to suppress unionism and that is the challenge we have in the industry.”
He condemned attempts by the government to sell refineries in Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Warri, and slammed as dysfunctional the divestment strategy of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).
Ogun wants the refineries to be commercialised, instead of privatised, so as to unlock their potential to function efficiently and yield profit.
“If the government must sell the refineries let them sell 40 per cent to states and 30 per cent to Nigerians. The government must have a stake, and the refineries must be working. The government should not give refineries subvention. Let them go to the Stock Exchange and raise money to run the establishments.
“Government money in the entities should be converted to shares and private investors should buy stakes and run them. They will refine and sell to the government and the public at government subsidised rates. At the end of the year they will declare profits and the government will get its share.
“But the government must not sell the refineries overnight thinking it is the best. How many enterprises have they sold? Is any of those enterprises sold working well? Gas flaring has continued in even the ones they are running.”
According to Ogun, the best option is for the government to help private investors to raise funds from the capital market to run the refineries.
He urged Abuja to divest a percentage of its holdings to willing state governments to improve refining and supply of petroleum products at affordable cost rather than outright sale to private owners who may exploit Nigerians.
“We are watching closely all the subterranean attempts by the [BPE] to go ahead with the sale of these refineries in spite of our engagement with the government.”
The high and low points of your struggle as a labour leader
One of the low points of my struggle is my not being able to conclude the PIB (Petroleum Industry Bill). If we had time it would have been a very good thing to pursue it to a logical conclusion.
The challenges were very enormous. If the bill was concluded, we would have been able to know if all our inputs will finally be part of the new act.
I just hope – based on the understanding we have with the government, the National Assembly and the NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) – that by the time the bill is passed some of our inputs will be incorporated.
Highlights of PENGASSAN’s inputs into PIB
One of the things we proposed is that under the PIB, there must be continuation of conditions of service and other rights. Workers should continue to enjoy the same conditions of service they enjoyed prior to the PIB. Those who will benefit from it should take both the benefits and liabilities of the sister organisation.
We are afraid that when the PIB is passed and some organisations have to go, or nothing changes, what happens to their collective bargain agreement? So, there are negotiations going to be done, but that is a labour angle.
Another area is the excessive power conferred on the minister of petroleum. We said no; it must not happen. The minister has no business being the chairman of the NNPC board. The government should appoint a neutral person as the chairman of the NNPC board.
We also proposed two regulatory agencies; one for upstream, the other for downstream. The reason why the government and the system cheat oil workers is that there is no agency regulating the downstream sector.
The government subsidises kerosene and petrol but they are sold at high prices because there is no agency checkmating. If there can be good agencies that can monitor both upstream and downstream, we can get that done.
We said a lot of things about the power of the president, about the need for the refineries to be unbundled or at least be on their own and run as commercial enterprises. That is what we need; it is not to sell the refineries.
If the government insists on selling the refineries, there is no problem, but it should sell part of them to Nigerians. Let the state governments buy into the refineries. The government must not sell them to individuals and private investors to come and exploit Nigerians.
The government should stop giving them subsidy. They should go to the capital market and raise funds, and operate the refineries, while government retains its stake. Let other investors buy some stake and run the refineries. At the end of every financial year when they declare profits, the government will get dividends just as other investors.
But on a good note, one of the things we really achieved is making sure that virtually every worker in the oil and gas industry has a union, especially contract and service staff. Normally we have in-house unions that cater for the interest of our workers but for contract and service workers in big companies, nobody protects their interest.
Any employment model or policy found to be deceptively exploitative and dehumanising will be resisted.
We advocate for decent working conditions, fair and adequate compensation and benefits for all categories of our members with unrestricted legitimate right for workers to participate in union activities, collective bargaining and other lawful engagements in resolving issues with social partners.
We have been able to unionise all contract and service workers working in big companies. For us, that is significant in our struggle for decent working conditions, fair and adequate compensation and benefits for all categories of our members.
Improvement in industrial relations in oil and gas industry
Industrial relation is another good thing we have done perfectly. We have brought to bear intellectual debate and confidence in handling industrial relations both at the branches and in government. That is why you hardly talk of PENGASSAN going on industrial strike throughout this period.
What we do is write and give enough notice and sit down to engage them. Most times, we get what we want; that being the case, there is no need embarking on strike.
We have been able to change the business of industrial relations to what it is supposed to be. It is logic, superior argument, and that has won it all for us. Today, we have the confidence of both the government and our employers. There is serious relationship between branches and their management and the government.
It does not mean that they do not quarrel but when they do, we intervene and find ways of resolving it. And that brings greater confidence.
Now we are talking with the government to adopt our proposal that any company seeking to get government contract or work in the oil and gas industry must come with a CBA. We expect the government to endorse it and put its foot down.
NUPENG, NNPC, PENGASSAN and others should join the effort of making this message clear to oil companies that they cannot get government contracts unless they have a CBA.
If they do, then we will know that everybody working in the oil and gas industry is well protected.
How fuel subsidy should be implemented
The current subsidy regime favours the rich. That is why I am disposed to a better subsidy programme that will impact on the poor masses, such as the railway rebuilding project, for example.
I know very well that the railway will go a long way towards solving our problems in Nigeria. With railway, average Nigerian can pay little money and go where he is going; he won’t be bothered much about high fares.
The government should engage labour on what it wants to do with subsidy money, how to fund the cost of a railway project that cuts across the length and breadth of the country so that people can move goods with ease.
The most interesting thing is that there is provision for express train that can move as fast as vehicles. And if that is available, I will not bother about spending so much money on flight to Abuja. The average Nigerian will just board a train to Abuja and get to his destination quickly without spending so much.
If the government wants to finance the rail project, even if it is valued at about N10 trillion, it can borrow funds, award the contract, and then remove the subsidy. Nigerians will not trust government’s intention for removal of subsidy without its commitment to some projects that are masses oriented.
In the alternative, the government can do the project in partnership with any private investor who will run it and collect the proceeds as long it agrees with the government.
The current subsidy regime is not benefiting the masses, it is just making some individuals rich. The industry is bogged down; it has not allowed the industry to grow. That is why you cannot see private investors investing in refineries and things like that.
So, let the government remove that bottleneck. Nigerians want to get benefits from oil and gas; they don’t want to continue to suffer. The cost of living is quite high; and if we have a railway that is functional in all parts of the country, Nigerians will be happy. Why can’t the government start from there to redirect the subsidy regime?
The government cannot continue the subsidy programme it is currently doing because it is only benefitting few rich individuals. If the government builds a railway with subsidy money and then stops subsidy, that will be quite good.
Your advice to your successor
Continue good industrial relations and robust engagement of people and organisations.
There should be a serious oversight of companies and agencies and there should be serious contacts with the Nigeria Immigration Service and the Ministry of Labour over the Nigerian content law to ensure that expatriate quota is reduced regularly to meet our desired quota.
Serious training for members should be sustained. We need to work on the kind of leaders we are going to produce in the organisation so that the high standard and morals we have established in NUPENGASSAN will be sustained.
