US embassy cable - 05LAGOS551

UNCLAS LAGOS 000551 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, EPET, KDEM, NI, PGOV 
SUBJECT: OIL UNION STRIKE SUSPENDED; TIDEX NEGOTIATIONS 
CONTINUE 
 
REF: LAGOS 531 
 
1.  On April 9, leaders of the National Union of Petroleum 
and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and 
Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) 
suspended a three-day warning strike which had been scheduled 
to begin April 11.  The unions called off the strike, saying 
they had reached agreement with the GON and major oil 
companies on most of their demands.  In regard to expatriate 
worker quotas, the parties agreed that relevant government 
agencies and the oil sector will jointly monitor compliance 
with the quota policy.  The parties also agreed to form a 
committee comprising the Ministry of Labor, the Nigerian 
Employers Consultative Association (NECA), the oil industry, 
and the oil and gas unions to develop guidance on redundancy 
and lay-offs.  Other areas of agreement related to the 
Pensions Reform Act, casualization, and refineries. 
 
2. Tidex-specific issues were not resolved and the parties 
agreed to continue meetings this week (reftel).  PENGASSAN 
President Brown Ogbeifun told Pol Specialist he is optimistic 
the Tidex issues will be resolved.  He added that even if the 
Tidex issues are not resolved, he does not foresee a national 
strike of PENGASSAN and NUPENG members.  Strike action would 
be limited to Tidex, as has been the case for over one month 
now. 
 
BROWNE