The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has declared solidarity with the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) in its dispute with the Dangote Group, accusing the conglomerate of anti-union practices, unfair labour treatment and monopolistic strategies.
In a strongly worded statement signed by its President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, the NLC described Dangote’s labour policies as “a full-blown declaration of war against the Nigerian working class, trade unionism, and the principle of Decent Work.”
The Congress alleged that the Dangote Refinery pays some of the lowest wages in the oil and gas sector, denies workers their constitutional right to unionise, and relies heavily on casual labour under unsafe conditions.
“The revelations in NUPENG’s statement represent not just an attack on petroleum workers, but an attempt to enslave Nigerian workers while monopolising entire sectors,” Ajaero said.
The NLC claimed that complaints of labour rights violations by Dangote are longstanding, with similar concerns raised by unions within and outside Nigeria.
It accused the group of importing foreign workers to the detriment of skilled Nigerians and manipulating market scarcity to inflate prices of essentials such as petroleum products, cement and sugar.
The Congress also condemned reported attempts by Dangote to recruit drivers on the condition that they would not join any union, describing this as a breach of Section 40 of the Constitution, the Labour Act, and ILO Conventions 87 and 98.
The NLC called for urgent government intervention, warning that institutions would be held complicit if they “look the other way while a few individuals privatise the nation’s energy future and enslave its workforce.”
Its demands include:
The Congress placed all state councils and industrial unions on “red alert” and vowed to support NUPENG’s proposed strike if the issue remained unresolved.
“The attack on NUPENG is an attack on us all. Nigerian workers are not slaves and cannot be serially abused without consequences,” the NLC declared.
