The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has warned that any labour contractor that promotes unfair labour practices in the oil and gas sector risks having his license revoked or not renewed.
He said the ministry is working on reforming the process of granting and renewing Recruiters License to Labour Contractors with the aim of ensuring adherence to expatriate quotas and avoiding unfair labour practices.
The minister stated this when he received the newly elected National Administrative Council Members of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) who visited him in Abuja.
Ngige thanked the council members for taking interest in job creation in the oil and gas sector and for observing some lapses on the part of labour contractors licensed by the ministry.
He said: “We have started reforming the process of granting and renewing Recruiters’ License and we will not grant or renew the license of recruiters who compromise by aiding and abetting “yellow dog” contracts, as any recruiters found abusing expatriate quotas will have his license revoked or not renewed.”
He said that the ministry is making effort to close up identified gaps in the operational guidelines and labour laws in the oil and gas sector.
In his remarks, the newly elected President of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, Comrade Williams Akporeha, decried unfair labour practices being perpetrated by labour contractors in the oil and gas sector.
“It is so sad that in the oil and gas industry as it is in other sectors, our employees have become more or less slave labour with no hope for career growth and development. In almost all multinational oil companies in Nigeria, there are no more direct permanent jobs for the middle level to lower level cadre,” he said.
Comrade William said the union is committed to the promotion of industrial peace and harmony in the country.
