The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has agreed to suspend its nationwide strike after Dangote Refinery consented to redeploy disengaged workers to other subsidiaries within the group.
The resolution was contained in a communiqué signed by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Muhammad Maigari-Dingyadi, after a two-day conciliation meeting held in Abuja on Monday and Tuesday.
The meeting was attended by the National Security Adviser, Ministers of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, State for Petroleum (Gas), representatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), and labour leaders. It was convened following PENGASSAN’s directive to halt gas supply and withdraw services from the refinery.
According to the communiqué, the meeting affirmed that unionisation is a fundamental right protected under Nigerian law, stressing that the company must respect workers’ freedom to associate. It was agreed that affected workers would be redeployed without loss of pay, and no staff would face victimisation for participating in the dispute.
In return, PENGASSAN agreed to begin the process of calling off the strike. Both sides pledged to uphold the resolutions in good faith.
The communiqué noted:
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PENGASSAN had taken action after more than 800 members were laid off by Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Limited.
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The union argued that the dismissals were tied to union activities and accused the company of replacing Nigerians with expatriates.
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Dangote’s management, however, maintained that the restructuring was purely operational and not targeted at union members.
The face-off, which initially ended in a deadlock on Monday, had raised fears of energy supply disruptions nationwide. The Federal Government intervened, warning that the impasse could have serious economic and energy security consequences.
With this truce, the long-running standoff appears to be easing, pending the full implementation of the agreed terms.
