When one of Nigeria's powerful oil unions took on the Dangote Refinery in a labour dispute in the last week of September, it was a fight between two giants - and the country felt the impact. Oil output fell, supply chains were disrupted and the economy faced paralysis before the government brokered a truce.
The immediate spark for the dispute was the laying off of about 800 employees of the 20bn Dangote Refinery, the 650,000 barrels per day facility reputed to be the world's largest single-train refinery. The ostensible spark for the dispute was a reorganisation that the company said was aimed at curbing sabotage. But the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Pengassan, representing white-collar workers, said the refinery management had prohibited unions at the plant and fired workers who were attempting to unionise. The union responded by calling a nationwide strike of its members that started on 28 September.
The right to join a union"Under Nigerian law and international best practice, employees have the right to join a trade union of their choice," said Elvis Asia, a Lagos-based lawyer and chartered arbitrator. "Victimising employees on that basis is not permissible."