‘Planned Nationwide Strike, A Cheap PENGASSAN Blackmail’

A multi-national company based at the Onne Export Free Zone, Vam Onne Nigeria Limited, has described the  nationwide strike threatened by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) as a cheap blackmail by the union intended to get from the backdoor that which they could not get through the front door of laid out legal and constitutional processes.

The Country Manager of the multinational, Nigeria’s foremost pipe threading, casing and tubing firm, at the centre of the PENGASSAN storm, Mr Eugene Fogli, stated this in an exclusive interview with The Tide.

Mr Fogli expressed shock and utter disappointment with what he described as the seemingly gangster-like approach by the union in harassing legitimate workers of the company.

He said that the PENGASSAN members allegedly sacked last year, were not employees of Vam Onne Nigeria Limited, as the union wanted the world to believe, but employees of Marine Platform Nigeria Limited (MPL), who, as legitimate labour contractors, engaged them directly and paid their monthly salaries in line with existing employment agreements.

Expatiating further, legal counsel to Vam Onne, Mr Inam Wilson of Templars Law Firm, Lagos, explained that the excesses of the Part Harcourt zone of PENGASSAN had earlier been reported to relevant constitutional bodies, including the police.

In one such petition to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Onne, Port Harcourt, Vam Onne, according to Barrister Wilson, copy of which was made available to The Tide, Vam Onne had reported that the Port Harcourt zone of PENGASSAN, “in concert with other misguided employees of MPL illegally and unlawfully set up barricade at the entrance of Vam Onne Nigeria Limited between November 2 – 16, 2011 which made it impossible for the company to operate and carry out its lawful business with consequential losses assessed at about $100,000 daily,” about N15 million per day and N190 million in 14 days. The confrontation, Vam Onne explained held the potent threat to loss of life and injury to its staff.

According to the petition, dated December 7, 2011 and signed by the Managing Director, Eugene Fogli, ‘although PENGASSAN and MPL workers temporarily suspended their action on November 16, 2011, they resumed the illegal blockade of Vam Onne facilities on December 2nd and remained there until December 7, 2011 when the DPO was petitioned.

Mr Fogli wondered how a PENGASSAN grouse with MPL over the sacking of one of its members by an employer should be used as excuse to picket Vam, instead of MPL, the employer of Mr John Ukegbu.

During the picketing, according to Mr Fogli, “not only were MPL staff buses packed across the entrance gate of Vam Onne premises, thus, preventing entry/or exit of vehicles, including our staff bus, a canopy was also set up across the front of the gate as additional barrier to prevent entry and movement of Vam personnel, customers, vehicles and materials. Vam Onne employees were under threat of harm and, physically prevented from gaining access into our premises to perform their lawful duties”.

Vam Onne also informed the DPO that unable to restrain the Port Harcourt zonal office of PENGASSAN from the ‘siege’, MPL, the labour contractor was constrained to institute a court action against the union, which resulted in the issuance by the National Industrial Arbitration Court, Enugu Division of an interlocutory order outlawing any further picketing or harassment of Vam employees, the company and its customers.

The Tide investigation revealed that the court order was yet to be discharged and the substantive suit still in court when PENGASSAN Zonal officers led by its acting chairman, Mr Friday Otono stormed Vam Onne, Tuesday, February 7, and laid siege till February 9, 2012 when they were dispersed by law enforcement officers.

In an earlier interview at the union’s new zonal office unveiled last Monday, in Port Harcourt, Mr Otono said, ‘all we want is for government to call the parties, and not for us to pursue long litigations.

Soye Wilson

National President, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Malam Garba Mohammed (left), being welcomed by the South West Zonal Manager, News Agency Of Nigeria (NAN), Mr Folorunsho Ojo, during his visit to Ibadan zonal office of NAN, yesterday. With them are National Secretary, Mr Usman Liman (middle), and Assistant National Secretary, Mr Gbenga Bamidele.

Jamabo