• As new President declares war on casualisation, other unfair practices
By Victor Ahiuma-Young
For years, contract staffing and prolonged casual employment have remained contentious issues in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, leaving many workers performing permanent roles under the uncertainty of temporary employment.
But with a new leadership at the helm of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, the union appears ready to draw a line in the sand.
At the association’s 1st Quadrennial National Delegate Conference in Abuja, newly elected President, Bosun Olabiyi-Agoro, delivered a blunt message to employers: the use of contract employment to deny workers job security, fair treatment and decent working conditions will no longer be tolerated.
Declaring war on what he described as a growing menace in the sector, Olabiyi-Agoro questioned the logic of keeping workers on contract for years while they continue to perform jobs that are clearly permanent.
His warning was emphatic: a worker who has been doing the same job for two, five, 10 or even 20 years cannot reasonably continue to be classified as a temporary employee.
The declaration comes at a critical time for the industry, which is undergoing divestments, restructuring, automation and an energy transition, creating both opportunities and anxieties over the future of employment. Against this backdrop, the new PENGASSAN administration is promising not only to defend jobs but also to confront employment practices it considers exploitative, unsafe and inimical to workers’ dignity.
The message from the new leadership is therefore unmistakable: employers who use casualisation and prolonged contract staffing as instruments of labour exploitation have been shown the red card, and PENGASSAN is preparing for a new battle over the rights and future of workers in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
The newly elected President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, Bosun Olabiyi-Agoro, has sounded a strong warning to employers in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry against exploitative labour practices, declaring that the era of using contract staffing to undermine workers’ rights must end.
Olabiyi-Agoro, who assumed leadership of the association at its 1st Quadrennial National Delegate Conference in Abuja, said his administration would make the fight against casualisation and other forms of indecent employment a major priority.
In his acceptance speech, the new PENGASSAN President described contract staffing that keeps workers in supposedly temporary positions for years as a growing menace in the industry, with implications not only for workers’ welfare but also for health and safety.
“We are not averse to contract staffing, but it must be practised the way it is done everywhere in the world,” he said, stressing that a worker who has performed a job continuously for two, five, 10 or even 20 years can no longer reasonably be regarded as occupying a temporary position.
According to him, employers can no longer hide behind contract staffing arrangements to marginalise workers, suppress their benefits or reduce labour costs.
“The time management uses contract staffing strategy to molest workers, to cause marginalisation and save cost is effectively over,” he declared.
Five-point agenda
Beyond the battle against casualisation, the new administration unveiled a five-point programme aimed at strengthening the association and protecting its more than 30,000 members across the country.
At the heart of the agenda is the protection of jobs at a time when the oil and gas industry is undergoing divestments, business restructuring, automation and an energy transition that is reshaping the nature of employment.
Olabiyi-Agoro promised that no PENGASSAN member would be left behind, saying the association would negotiate just-transition arrangements, retraining and redeployment where necessary.
He also expressed optimism over the renewed recruitment activities in parts of the oil and gas sector, saying the rising level of activity should translate into greater employment opportunities rather than widespread job losses.
“Safety, welfare and dignity will remain non-negotiable,” he said.
The new president also pledged to defend Collective Bargaining Agreements, CBAs, insisting that agreements reached between labour and management must be respected and implemented.
“Agreements signed must be agreements kept,” he said, while promising an approach to industrial relations that combines collaboration with firmness.
According to him, the new administration will work with management as partners with different responsibilities, collaborating where there is fairness but resisting injustice through peaceful, lawful and effective means.
Olabiyi-Agoro further promised increased investment in training, digital skills, leadership development and mentorship, with particular attention to women and young professionals in the industry.
He said PENGASSAN must remain relevant as the energy sector evolves, noting that the future of oil, gas and renewable energy must include the voice and influence of workers.
The administration also promised to improve staff welfare and remuneration, strengthen stakeholder engagement and maintain an open relationship with the media.
Internal democracy, financial transparency and stronger branch support also formed part of the new administration’s agenda as it seeks to consolidate unity within the association.
NUCFRLANMPE fires warning shot at indecent employment
• Calls for fairer practices, end to workers’ rights abuses
The National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees, NUCFRLANMPE, has raised the alarm over emerging employment practices that undermine workers’ rights, warning employers against using contract and outsourced employment arrangements to deny workers legitimate benefits and job security.
The union also called for fairer employment practices, stronger labour protection and greater commitment to decent work as Nigeria’s workplace continues to undergo rapid changes driven by technology, economic pressures and evolving corporate strategies.
Speaking at the 34th Annual Nationwide Industrial Relations Seminar held in Benin City, Edo State, the National President of NUCFRLANMPE, Comrade Bolarinwa O.S., said the changing nature of employment must not be allowed to erode the dignity and rights of workers.
“Decent work is not a privilege to be negotiated away under economic strain; it is a fundamental human right essential for industrial harmony and sustainable productivity,” Bolarinwa said.
He noted that while flexibility in employment could encourage investment and operational efficiency, the growing use of alternative employment arrangements was increasingly creating challenges for job security and labour standards.
Bolarinwa said every employment relationship, whether permanent, fixed-term, outsourced, casual, platform-based or remote, must uphold the fundamental principles of decent work.
“The future of work must not become the end of decent work. Technological advancement, digital transformation and evolving employment models should enhance human dignity; they should not reduce it,” he said.
The union president stressed that the nature of a worker’s employment should not determine the value attached to the individual or the level of protection guaranteed by law.
He called on all stakeholders to take deliberate steps to strengthen industrial relations and promote inclusive economic growth.
Bolarinwa urged the Federal Government to sustain reforms aimed at creating employment while strengthening labour inspection and enforcing occupational safety and health standards.
He also called for labour laws to remain responsive to the changing realities of the modern workplace, stressing the importance of wider consultation with organised labour and employers whenever labour-related policies are developed or reviewed.
According to him, effective regulation is critical to ensuring that technological and economic changes in the workplace do not come at the expense of workers’ welfare.
Warning to employers
The union also directed a strong message to employers, particularly against the misuse of contract and outsourced employment arrangements.
Bolarinwa reaffirmed NUCFRLANMPE’s commitment to constructive social dialogue, saying industrial peace could only be sustained when it was built on equity, mutual respect and fairness.
“We believe that productivity and profitability flourish where workers are respected, collective bargaining is encouraged, and workplace policies are founded on fairness, transparency and mutual trust,” he said.
He urged employers to desist from using contract and outsourced employment as a means of denying workers their legitimate rights and benefits.
The union also pledged to strengthen workplace organising, particularly among young workers, women workers, contract employees and those engaged through labour contractors.
Bolarinwa said the changing world of work required labour unions to adopt new strategies, including the use of digital organising tools, increased investment in research and improved communication with members.
He further stressed the need to equip union organisers with the knowledge and skills required to effectively engage employers and respond to emerging challenges in industrial relations.
The seminar, themed “Emerging Trends in Employment Contract – Implication for Decent Work,” provided a platform for stakeholders to examine the impact of changing employment models on Nigerian workers.
Bolarinwa described the theme as timely, particularly against the backdrop of the country’s difficult socio-economic and political environment and the rapid transformation taking place in the world of work.
He maintained that employment flexibility should not become a justification for weakening workers’ rights, insisting that decent work must remain central to Nigeria’s industrial relations framework.
The NUCFRLANMPE president’s position places the union firmly in the growing debate over the future of employment in Nigeria, with a demand that employers, government and other stakeholders balance economic efficiency with workers’ rights, dignity and welfare.
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