Reactions have continued to trail the redeployment of sacked workers of Dangote Refinery to Borno, Zamfara, Benue, Ebonyi and other locations.
The workers were sacked by the management of the Dangote Refinery during a dispute between the company and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) last month.
PENGASSAN had embarked on a nationwide strike that lasted for three days in response to the disengagement of about 800 Nigerian workers over unionisation issues.
The Dangote Group insisted that the action was part of reorganisation carried out in response to repeated acts of sabotage of the refinery.
Following the Federal Government’s intervention, the strike was called off, and an agreement was reached between the Dangote Group and PENGASSAN for the re-engagement and redeployment of the affected workers to other subsidiaries within the company.
According to reports, while some of the sacked workers were sent to work at a coal mine in Benue, concrete road construction sites in Borno and Ebonyi states, and others were assigned to rice processing facilities in Zamfara, Niger, Kebbi, and Sokoto States.
Some of them were reportedly still graduate trainees at the time of their dismissal. They were asked to assume duty at their new assignments within 14 days or risk forfeiting the positions.
The news of the redeployment of the sacked workers has generated mixed reactions on social media.
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While some accused the refinery of violating the rights of the affected workers, citing security concerns in the locations the workers were redeployed to, others blamed PENGASSAN for what befell the workers.
Some also said that due to reported acts of sabotage at the refinery, the company may have lost trust in the sacked workers and had no option but to keep away from the facility.
An X user, Young Sahito, stated: “If Dangote can do this to his fellow Nigerian while shouting that he is taking slavery away from Africans, we do not have any strong labour law. @NLCHeadquarters are so useless to fight for the common man as long as they keep licking politicians’ ass. I weep for Nigeria’s youth.”
“It’s a sad day for the engineering profession. It’s very unfortunate,” another X user stated.
Akin Ayo said the plan is to make the affected workers take the exit if they can’t cope with the condition.
“Redeploying refinery engineers to other states and projects like coal or road construction seems like a clear way to sideline them from their intended roles. Is this really a win for PENGASSAN?” another X user asked.
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“PENGASSAN ruined the careers of their members because of their greed. How can you not be patient with a start-up and want to start dictating how to run a private start-up, all at the expense of Nigerians? That’s why they couldn’t win against Dangote,” another X user stated.
Adekunle said the Dangote Group, as a private employer, has the right to reassign any staff to where it deems necessary in line with the corporate goal, insisting that there’s nothing illegal about the latest decision of the company. “You either work with a company based on their terms or leave. There are millions and one willing to take the job if you think it’s not worth it,” he added.
Lukotun Zak Bakare queried why a graduate trainee should be concerned with joining a labour union instead of focusing on skill acquisition.
“I don’t understand how a graduate trainee sides with PENGASSAN against the same company that’s giving you an opportunity,” Bakare stated.
“Dangote should protect his business from this evil Organization/Union called PENGASSAN.”
Dangote Refinery responds.
Reacting to the controversy trailing the redeployment, the Dangote Group said it was not done to victimize anybody.
Speaking in a media interview, Vice-President, Oil and Gas at Dangote Group, Mr. Edwin Devakumar, said the company has a couple of new projects where workers are needed, necessitating the redeployment of staff to those locations.
Devakumar said the company redeployed the re-engaged staff to those project sites it owns 100 per cent, stating that firms like Dangote Sugar and Salt, among others, are public limited companies (PLCs) with their own salary structures and management systems.
He stressed that ongoing recruitment and redeployment of staff were part of efforts to ensure excellence in its operations across the subsidiaries.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist, scholar and analyst of socioeconomic issues in Nigeria and Africa. He is skilled in energy reporting, business and economy, and holds a master's degree in mass communication.
