Monday, 27 November, 2000, 13:33 GMT Nigerian oil output hit by strike

Oil workers in Nigeria have started a strike over better pay in a move which threatens to halt oil exports vital to the country's economy. Officials of a group representing senior oil staff said the strike would affect all oil companies operating in Nigeria.

Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer, providing nearly 10% of the United States oil imports, and production of up to two million barrels a day is under threat.

Reports say the dispute is in part over the disparity in wages paid to Nigerian and expatriate staff.

Nigeria is the world's sixth largest oil exporter, and production accounts for 90% of the country's earnings.

Total shutdown

A key oil workers union official, general secretary of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (Pengassan) Kenneth Narebor, said the industrial action is intended to paralyse the country's production.

"Our intent is to shut down production and close off exports," he told the AFP news agency.

"It is early days. But from what we can see this morning, the strike call is working," he said.

Pengassan wants pay rises of between 45% and 60% dependent on job category, but is prepared to negotiate.

Previous strike

Mr Narebor said unions had started talks with the six major oil companies represented in Nigeria more than a month ago after public sector and other industrial workers gained large pay increases.

Obasanjo: Second oil strike to deal with this year Workers in the state-owned oil firm NNPC had a pay rise of 10% and those in fuel marketing got 20% after a strike earlier this year.

Companies immediately affected include Chevron and Mobil although other firms are also likely to be hit by the action.

The move comes at a time when Nigeria is planning to increase its oil output.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_1043000/1043199.stm

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), November 27, 2000

Answers

Nigeria's white-collar oil workers go on strike By William Wallis in Lagos Published: November 27 2000 20:22GMT | Last Updated: November 27 2000 23:26GMT

Nigeria's white-collar oil workers' union began strike action on Monday, threatening to close down output from Africa's leading oil producer in pursuit of pay-related demands.

Union officials from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers' Senior Staff Association (Pengassan) said they were demanding a salary rise of 45-60 per cent for different categories of workers at the oil multinationals and service companies.

They said they would try to close down the 2.2m barrels per day oil industry and block exports of Nigeria's high quality crude, which account for more than 90 per cent of the country's export earnings and more than 8 per cent of US consumption.

Office staff at most of the five multinationals, which operate in joint ventures with the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, had joined in, according to initial reports.

Picketers blocked access to US company Chevron's headquarters outside Lagos, the commercial capital, while some staff at Royal Dutch Shell, which produces a third of total output, stayed at home. Oil service companies, including Haliburton, formerly run by Dick Cheney, the US Republican vice-presidential candidate, were also affected.

But there was no sign of support from colleagues in either the state Department of Petroleum Resources, which monitors exports and succeeded earlier this year in slowing crude loading in a separate strike, or from blue-collar workers.

"The strike has taken off but we are still trying to ensure that it is total. All the producing companies including Shell are affected," said Kenneth Narebor, Pengassan's general secretary.

Pengassan expected greater adherence on Tuesday when directives would reach oil export terminals and locations where drilling takes place. The principal grievances were from these areas.

However, oil company officials said that loading and production could be maintained with skeleton staff. They also doubted there would be public sympathy for the strikers, who have succeeded in jeopardising production in the past, mostly when national political issues were also at stake.

"You are talking about the best paid workers in Nigeria. I don't think that their salaries can be said to be a big issue," one oil industry official said.

Mr Narebor said the strike was prompted by the refusal of senior management to address government recommendations this year that public sector wage increases be followed by parallel rises in the private sector. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------

Nigeria's white-collar oil workers go on strike By William Wallis in Lagos Published: November 27 2000 20:22GMT | Last Updated: November 27 2000 23:26GMT

Nigeria's white-collar oil workers' union began strike action on Monday, threatening to close down output from Africa's leading oil producer in pursuit of pay-related demands.

Union officials from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers' Senior Staff Association (Pengassan) said they were demanding a salary rise of 45-60 per cent for different categories of workers at the oil multinationals and service companies.

They said they would try to close down the 2.2m barrels per day oil industry and block exports of Nigeria's high quality crude, which account for more than 90 per cent of the country's export earnings and more than 8 per cent of US consumption.

Office staff at most of the five multinationals, which operate in joint ventures with the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, had joined in, according to initial reports.

Picketers blocked access to US company Chevron's headquarters outside Lagos, the commercial capital, while some staff at Royal Dutch Shell, which produces a third of total output, stayed at home. Oil service companies, including Haliburton, formerly run by Dick Cheney, the US Republican vice-presidential candidate, were also affected.

But there was no sign of support from colleagues in either the state Department of Petroleum Resources, which monitors exports and succeeded earlier this year in slowing crude loading in a separate strike, or from blue-collar workers.

"The strike has taken off but we are still trying to ensure that it is total. All the producing companies including Shell are affected," said Kenneth Narebor, Pengassan's general secretary.

Pengassan expected greater adherence on Tuesday when directives would reach oil export terminals and locations where drilling takes place. The principal grievances were from these areas.

However, oil company officials said that loading and production could be maintained with skeleton staff. They also doubted there would be public sympathy for the strikers, who have succeeded in jeopardising production in the past, mostly when national political issues were also at stake.

"You are talking about the best paid workers in Nigeria. I don't think that their salaries can be said to be a big issue," one oil industry official said.

Mr Narebor said the strike was prompted by the refusal of senior management to address government recommendations this year that public sector wage increases be followed by parallel rises in the private sector.

http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc? pagename=View&c=Article&cid=FT3PP0JL2GC&live=true&tagid=ZZZINS5VA0C&su bheading=middle%20east%20and%20africa

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), November 27, 2000.