By Ayomide Otitoju
The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has called on the management of the Dangote Petrochemical Refinery to issue a public apology and reinstate more than 800 Nigerian workers recently dismissed by the company.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, TUC Secretary-General, Nuhu Toro, said the refinery violated the workers’ constitutional rights and ignored agreements reached in earlier negotiations.
“The dismissal of over 800 workers is arbitrary. We demand their reinstatement, followed by a public apology from Dangote Refinery, with assurances that such actions will not be used against the union in the future,” Toro stated.
The dispute stems from the refinery’s clash with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) over workers’ unionisation rights. Toro noted that PENGASSAN, being an affiliate of the TUC, cannot be sidelined in the matter.
He accused the refinery of refusing to address the core issue—the workers’ right to freely associate—and instead hiding under claims of sabotage without providing evidence. He further alleged that Nigerian workers were being subjected to “double standards” compared to Indian expatriates employed at the facility.
“This is nothing but economic oppression and modern-day slavery,” Toro said, adding that organised labour would resist any attempt to deny workers their fundamental rights.
The TUC chief also reminded the public that unions had previously supported Aliko Dangote during the early struggles to operationalise the refinery, stressing that their current demands were not an attempt to undermine the multibillion-dollar facility.
“What we will not take is slave labour. Unionisation is a fundamental right, and workers must be allowed to join the union of their choice,” he declared.
