Oil workers demand salary benchmark in Nigeria

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has demanded a salary benchmark for oil and gas workers in the country, citing the recent policy changes by the federal government. The union’s national president

This was the demand of Mr. Festus Osifo, who spoke at the PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Submit’s second edition in Abuja on Monday.

According to Osifo, the government’s decision to remove the subsidy on petrol and float the naira-dollar exchange rate has only benefited the government and the oil and gas companies in Nigeria.

He proposed that the salaries of oil and gas workers should be pegged to the dollar, as it is done in Angola, where workers are paid the legal tender equivalent of their dollar-denominated wages.

Meanwhile, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Mele Kyari, said that despite the challenges, the country was already witnessing some positive outcomes of the subsidy removal.

He also said that by 2024, Nigeria would become a net exporter of refined petroleum products based on ongoing policy interventions by the present administration.