The Dangote Refinery has dismissed hundreds of its Nigerian workers due to “unionism” as Senator Shehu Sani opined.
Dangote Group made known via its official X account that, “Only a very small number of staff were affected” in the dismissal.
The Senator said, Dangote, who “risked” so much to erect the Refinery, prefers to run its operations “without disruptions”; adding, the businessman wants to have “total control”.
However, in his opinion, Sani said, the workers of the Refinery want to “unionise” to guard themselves from “what they fear would be ‘slavery’”.
Senator Shehu Sani posted on X: “Dangote took his risk and built his refinery. He wants it to operate without disruptions. He wants to have total control. He doesn’t want unionism. He doesn’t want what happened to the Government owned refineries to happen to his own.
“The Workers want to unionise to protect themselves from what they fear would be ‘slavery’. That’s the clash.”
Via a statement titled ‘Dangote Refinery Reorganisation: Commitment to safety, integrity and workers’ rights’, signed by its Management, Dangote Group disclosed: “The Dangote Petroleum Refinery wishes to clarify recent reports concerning the ongoing reorganisation within its facility. This exercise is not arbitrary. It has become necessary to safeguard the refinery from repeated acts of sabotage that have raised safety concerns and affected operational efficiency.
“The foregoing decision was taken in the best interest of the refinery as result of intermittent cases of sabotage in the various units of the refinery with dire consequences on human life and related safety concerns.
“We remain vigilant to our internal systems and vulnerabilities to ensure the long-term stability of this strategic national asset. It is imperative to protect the refinery for the benefit of Nigerians, our partners across Africa, and the thousands of people whose livelihood depend on it.
“Over 3,000 Nigerians continue to work actively in our Petroleum Refinery, at present. Only a very small number of staff were affected, as we continue to recruit Nigerian talents through our various graduate trainee programmes and experienced hire recruitment process.
“We recognise and uphols internationally accepted Labour principles, including the rights of every worker to freely decide whether or not to join a union. Our commitment to workers’ rights is unwavering.
“The Dangote Petroleum Refinery exists to serve Nigerians, to strengthen Africa’s energy independence, and to create decent sustainable jobs. We will continue to worknin partnership with our employees, regulators and stakeholders to uphold the highest standards of safety, transparency and accountability.”
