Union calls off ExxonMobil strike

News wires

The Petroleum & Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (Pengassan), Nigeria's white-collar oil workers union, has suspended a planned strike over a labour dispute with the local unit of ExxonMobil and will resume talks with the company, union leaders said this afternoon.

Pengassan had threatened to begin a strike today targeting oil production and exports after talks over welfare broke down.

Union leaders said the government met with the feuding parties last night and asked them to resume negotiations.

"The strike has been stepped down and negotiations are going to resume as we agreed at a meeting with the labour ministry and (state oil company the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) yesterday," national Secretary General Bayo Olowoshile told Reuters.

The union did not say what will happen thereafter but added only that it was optimistic the dispute will be resolved.

Olowoshile said the ExxonMobil's offices were shut today because the union had already mobilised members for the strike before the decision to suspend it was made.

"It is usually difficult to immediately demobilise, but we were able to save production and exports," Olowoshile said.

A company spokeswoman confirmed ExxonMobil offices were shut but oil output and exports at its Qua Iboe terminal were unaffected.

Olowoshile said the union was unhappy that compensation for workers was not commensurate with ExxonMobil's status as the number one operator in Africa's top oil producer.

The US energy giant has a separate dispute with contract staff who are protesting the sacking of some of their members.

Last month, senior workers in ExxonMobil's downstream sector threatened an industry-wide strike to protest the sacking of about 100 Nigerian workers. The threat was withdrawn after the government intervened and resolved dispute.

24 April 2008 13:07 GMT  | last updated: 24 April 2008 14:15 GMT