The Monday reconciliation meeting called by the Federal Government to resolve the dispute between Dangote Group and the National Union of Petroleum and Gas Workers, NUPENG, over alleged anti- labour activities of the private refinery has ended in a deadlock, with the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, accusing Dangote management of walking out on the gathering.
The meeting was co-chaired by the Minister of Labour, Muhammed Dingyadi, and Minister of State for Labour, Nkeiru Onyejeocha.
According to the NLC, the representatives of Dangote Industries Limited staged a walk out on others at the reconciliatory meeting called to resolved the face-off over the proposed free distribution of fuel by Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals Company.
The meeting was convened by the Federal Government in Abuja to save the country’s economy from being crippled by NUPENG’s threat to go on strike.
The meeting, which lasted about seven hours, was said to have ended in a deadlock.
According to the spokesman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Benson Upah: “The representatives of the Dangote refinery walked out on the minister and organised labour.”
When asked if there was no agreement, Upah responded: No.
“Even when we bent backwards to accommodate his uncompromising behaviour, he still did what he had to do.
“So we are left with no option but to do the needful.
“The action continues.”
Others who attended the meeting are national executives of NUPENG; officials of the NLC, and Trade Union Congress (TUC); Executive Director of Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Ogbugo Ukoha; and representatives of DIL and MRS Petroleum.
