OIL SECTOR LABOR UNIONS THREATEN MAY 24-25 STRIKE

UNCLAS LAGOS 000368 SIPDIS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - HANDLE ACCORDINGLY SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/W, INR/AA, DS/IP/AF, DS/ICI/PII, DS/DSS/OSAC WARSAW FOR LISA PIASCIK CIUDAD JUAREZ FOR DONNA BLAIR ISTANBUL FOR TASHAWNA SMITH SAO PAULO FOR ANDREW WITHERSPOON DOE FOR GPERSON, CAROLYN GAY TREASURY FOR ASEVERENS, SRENENDER, DFIELDS COMMERCE FOR KBURRESS STATE PASS USTR FOR ASST USTR FLISER STATE PASS TRANSPORTATION FOR MARAD STATE PASS OPIC FOR ZHAN AND MSTUCKART STATE PASS TDA FOR NCABOT STATE PASS EXIM FOR JRICHTER STATE PASS USAID FOR GWEYNAND AND SLAWAETZ E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB KDEM NI PGOV PHUM SUBJECT: OIL SECTOR LABOR UNIONS THREATEN MAY 24-25 STRIKE -------------- Oil Sector Unions To Protest Refinery Sales -------------- ¶1. According to press reports, workers of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will wear red starting May 21 in protest of the recent Bureau of Public Enterprise's (BPE) sale of the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries and Stallion House in Lagos. If the Federal Government fails to offer a "meaningful roundtable discussion," the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and its management counterpart, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Sector of Nigeria (PENGASSAN),have threatened to carry out a "total strike" on May 24 which could paralyze key oil and gas services. In the downstream sector, the strike would paralyze deliveries of petroleum products. Production may be "partly affected," according to Poloff's PENGASSAN interlocutor. The strike would be open-ended, continuing until the government invites the unions to the negotiating table. (Note: Initially, only NNPC members of PENGASSAN and NUPENG will strike; if government is unresponsive, the unions will consider expanding the strike to other members. End Note.) On May 22 the unions began protesting at both refineries and corporate headquarters in Abuja, according to a PENGASSAN interlocutor. ¶2. A NUPENG official told Poloff the unions are not protesting the industry's privatization, but are protesting the BPE's failure to practice due diligence for the sale of these holdings. Specifically, the official continued, BPE has ignored a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the unions which provides the unions two to three weeks to explain the privatization process to its members and to carry out their own due diligence on the prospective buyers. In a public statement, one union leader said they would like to know the fate of the over 4,000 employees who expect to be made redundant. -------------- -------------- Labor & Civil Society To Protest Elections Over Holidays -------------- -------------- ¶3. The Labor and Civil Society Coalition (LASCO),composed of the Trade Union Congress (TUC),the Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC),and 39 civil society organizations, have announced a protest against the 2007 elections, as well as a number of other issues, including the government's failure to increase civil service salaries. This protest, coinciding with the inauguration of the new administration, takes place on May 28 and May 29. May 29 has been declared a public holiday, Nigerian Democracy Day. A representative of the Trade Union Congress told Poloff on May 22 he hoped the government and police force would allow people to protest peacefully. While the media suggests workers would remain home both days, our interlocutor said they would gather in public areas such as stadiums and perhaps on major roadways. He would not disclose the locations or focal points for the nationwide protests so as not to divulge their strategy. BROWNE