OIL UNION STRIKE SUSPENDED; TIDEX NEGOTIATIONS

UNCLAS LAGOS 000551 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB EPET KDEM NI PGOV SUBJECT: OIL UNION STRIKE SUSPENDED; TIDEX NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE REF: LAGOS 531 ¶1. On April 9, leaders of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) suspended a three-day warning strike which had been scheduled to begin April 11. The unions called off the strike, saying they had reached agreement with the GON and major oil companies on most of their demands. In regard to expatriate worker quotas, the parties agreed that relevant government agencies and the oil sector will jointly monitor compliance with the quota policy. The parties also agreed to form a committee comprising the Ministry of Labor, the Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA),the oil industry, and the oil and gas unions to develop guidance on redundancy and lay-offs. Other areas of agreement related to the Pensions Reform Act, casualization, and refineries. ¶2. Tidex-specific issues were not resolved and the parties agreed to continue meetings this week (reftel). PENGASSAN President Brown Ogbeifun told Pol Specialist he is optimistic the Tidex issues will be resolved. He added that even if the Tidex issues are not resolved, he does not foresee a national strike of PENGASSAN and NUPENG members. Strike action would be limited to Tidex, as has been the case for over one month now. BROWNE