…Vow to continue with protest until their requests are met
In what could be described as a renewed hostility and unrelenting quest to press home their demand, the entire workforce of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 42 in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State, has embarked on a wild protest aimed at seeking redress to what they called management insensitivity to the plight of the workers, warning that they will continue to disrupt and paralyze the organization’s operation until their demands are met.
OML 42 asset is being operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC)/Neconde joint venture.
This is coming barely six months, after the workers from various contractors working for the company, including workers of Tekedor Nig Limited, NOFS/CESL, Arere and Brothers Nig Ent., Mabsolo Nig Enterprise, Goodness Ventures Nig Ent., Patley Nig Ent., Ebibo Nig Ent and IMPAC barricaded the entrance of NPDC yard in Edjeba, Warri with placards in protest over unpaid salaries for over 8 months by the management.
The workers in the present protest comprises of O&M, mariners, production assistants, caterers, surveillance, station maintenance, houseboat, among others, on Tuesday, took to Neconde yard in Warri, the operator’s major platform to register their grievances.
They have embarked on what they described as a “no crew change and evacuation of personnel” from the various facilities of OML42 field.
While they describes as wicked, cruel and inhuman, management deliberate inability to keep up to their promise.
Some of the protesting workers who spoke with GbaramatuVoice, lamented that such failure have openly subjected them and their families to excruciating pains and hunger.
The aggrieved workers further stated that the newly formed Joint Project Management Team in OML 42 and Amaranta Oil and Gas which came to manage the asset is to their greatest surprise still act the same way like their predecessors that impoverished them for over Six (6) years and led many personnel to untimely dead.
This agreement they added includes; that management must clear all backlogs of outstanding Salaries, Prompt Payment of Vendors to meet up their personnel Salaries, Improve the health plan to a better package, Review contracts to give room for increase of salaries to mitigate the high cost of living in the country, paying what is due to promoted FTO trainees who have completed their training, Payment of Covid-19 Allowance, Resolving the Poor Standard meal and drinking water on the facilities.
But contrary the agreed terms, the management has wholly reneged. And on our part, we will not stop this protest until our demands are met.
Part of this demand the aggrieved workers listed include; Prompt Payment of Vendors/Salaries, Contracts and Salaries Review to mitigate high cost of living, Better Health Plan(HMO), Instant increase of field going FTO trainees who have completed their 5 years, Reversal of poor Standard Meal and drinking water, Covid-19 Allowance, Basic Amenities in the facilities among others.
“Management must realize that a healthy and productive facility is as a result of healthy and happy workers mounting the equipment,” they concluded.
Recall that some of these workers that spoke to GbaramatuVoice, during a similar strike held six months among other things stated that their grievances basically boil down to the issue of non-payment of salaries which ranges from four to eight months, owed 13 months’ bonuses since 2019, owed leave allowance since 2020 and other issue of poor welfare on facilities.”
