The federal government has resolved the dispute between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery following two days of negotiations in Abuja.
The truce was sealed in a communiqué signed by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Maigari-Dingyadi, after a conciliation meeting that ended on Tuesday.
The talks involved top government officials, including the National Security Adviser, ministers of finance and petroleum, as well as representatives of the DSS, NIA, NNPCL, NMDPRA, and labour leaders.
The meeting was convened after PENGASSAN ordered its members to halt gas supply and withdraw services from the refinery, accusing the company of terminating over 800 workers.
Dangote Refinery had defended the action, saying it was part of an ongoing restructuring process.
In its resolutions, the meeting affirmed that unionisation is a fundamental right under Nigerian law and must be respected.
It was further agreed that the affected workers be redeployed to other Dangote Group subsidiaries without loss of pay, and that none would face victimisation for their role in the dispute.
PENGASSAN, in return, committed to begin the process of calling off its strike, while both parties pledged to implement the agreements in good faith.
