Members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) in the early hours of Tuesday protested non-payment of Staff entitlements, among other issues.
The Union barricaded the entrance of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) head office in Abuja, protesting what they term ‘escalating critical concerns affecting staff welfare in the Commission.’
The protesting workers raised issues relating to pension non-remittance, non-conducive work environment, insufficient work tools, staff medicals, outstanding payments of 2023 upfront allowances, unpaid staff claims, unpaid staff on-call allowance, and non-payment of outsourced personnel.
But the Commission, in its response signed by the Chief Executive, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe said obligations relating to claims made by the union have been fulfilled, adding that efforts were already in place to achieve closure on the pending items.
According to the Commission, the protest came less than 24 hours after the management of the commission had, in response to PENGASSAN’s letter delivered on July 31, 2023, addressed all the issues raised concerning staff welfare.
” Responding same day (July 31) to the letter which the local PENGASSAN chairman and secretary signed, Mr. O. E. Anya and Dr M Malah, respectively, the Commission explained the stages at which all the stated issues have been addressed to date,” it said.
Contrary to claims, it explained that pension deductions from staff emoluments have not been remitted to the various PFAs in line with the Pension Reform Act 2014, the Commission had fully settled all pension deductions.
“Evidence was attached to the response for the Union’s attention and verification,” it added.
On the Union’s claims on the non-conducive work environment, it explained that an additional working space had been secured in Abuja, while relevant steps have been taken to fit the necessary facilities in the Port Harcourt and Lagos offices,” given the fact that the properties were inherited from subsidiaries of the defunct Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in those locations when the Commission was created about two years ago through the Petroleum Industry Act, 2023.”
The Commission further noted that the management in 2023 has procured two batches of laptops for staff, adding that these were being allocated based on the priority list.
On medicals, the management stressed that the existing arrangement in the Commission affords all staff and their wards access to accredited hospitals, and bills are settled subsequently.
It further pointed out that full and comprehensive medical care, inclusive of approved overseas treatment, where required, is provided for all staff.
“All medical expenses are scheduled for payment and are undergoing processing,” it noted.
While responding to the issue of outstanding upfront allowances, the management further explained that following the mop-up of unspent balances of funds in December 2022 by the CBN, as required by law, it started the 2023 fiscal year with a funding deficit against a zero allocation.
It said with an analysis of the inflow and outflow of funds from January to June 2023 management, the funds available could not cover all outstanding liabilities.
To this end, it said a decision was taken to pay staff entitlement in batches net of deductions.
“By June 2023, the Commission had paid more than N1.5 billion of the upfront cooperative deductions, and the outstanding is undergoing processing for settlement in August 2023.
“Staff claims are undergoing processing in line with the cash flows of the Commission, and all staff claims have been scheduled for immediate payment on the relevant payment platform.”
The Commission, however, reiterated its commitment to staff welfare, adding that it “will do all that is necessary within available resources to ensure that the welfare and security of staff under its employ are given deserving attention.”
