Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State has condemned the continued casualisation of workers in the oil and gas industry.

The governor, last Tuesday in Asaba when members of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) led by its National President, Mr Igwe Achiese, paid him a courtesy visit, appealed to employers of labour to stop casualisation of their workforce, especially in the oil sector.

The governor said that multi-national oil companies often contracted jobs to Nigerians, who thereafter placed their Nigerian employees on casual labour, and said that his administration was committed to dealing with the issues of casualisation in government in spite of its reoccurring challenges.

“This administration is determined to change the face of Delta, and on the issues you have raised so far, the casualisation is an issue that I am very particular about.

“And I believe it should not happen, especially in the oil industry. This is because I have people around me, who are victims of casualisation.  It is inhuman to employ workers for 25 years or more and retire them as casuals, with no pension, while the pay is infinitesimal,’’ he said.

The governor also assured the union that the state would work out modalities to provide new parking areas for tanker vehicles in Warri to ease the challenges of space for tanker drivers awaiting their loading turns.

He also assured the union of security adding that government was committed to supporting the security agencies to provide adequate protection within the state.

The governor, however, charged the union to ensure prompt release of information to security agencies to enable them function effectively.

Earlier, the union president lauded the state government for the physical development projects in Asaba and its environs, and urged him not to relent.

Achiese said that they were on the visit to officially invite the governor to inaugurate the union’s zonal secretariat in Warri on June 29.

The union president said NUPENG had operated from a rented apartment until recently, adding that its own structure was now ready.

He commended the governor for the relative peace that the union had enjoyed under his administration, and urged him to improve on the current level of peace.

Achiese urged the governor to wade into the issues of casualisation under which oil workers were placed on casual labour for as much as 18 years, while receiving peanuts, and without any entitlement.

He also appealed to the state government to provide space for petroleum taker park.

Achiese described corruption as the bedrock of the current state of insecurity in the country, adding that if corruption was checked and the needed infrastructure put in place, insecurity would have been dealt with.