International oil major and joint venture partner of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), has expressed concern over a seeming misrepresentation of facts in the notice given to it by the Joint Executive Committee of CNL branches of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), declaring their joint intention to embark on industrial action.
The two unions, in a report published in Sunday Sun, announced that CNL had failed to rescind the wrongful termination of three of their members caused by policy changes detrimental to their interests and, therefore, demanded a reversal of same by CNL, failing which they would embark on industrial action to ground the operations of the oil firm after the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum.
Reacting to the report, a statement by its General Manager (Policy, Government and Public Affairs), Esimaje Brikinn, while acknowledging the notice, denied complicity in the decision of its third party contractors to disengage the affected workers.
Setting the record straight, Chevron said: “Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), operator of the joint venture between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and CNL (NNPC/CNL JV), confirms that, it has received a notice of threat to embark on industrial action (Notice) jointly signed by officials of the CNL Branch of The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN). The Notice is in respect of some alleged unresolved industrial relations issues, including termination of employment of some employees of independent, third party contractors by their employers.
