FALANA FAULTS DANGOTE REFINERY OVER WORKER’S UNION RIGHTS
By Olayiwola Ibrahim // Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has criticized the agreement reached between the Federal Government, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), and the management of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals over the unionization of its staff.
According to Falana, the deal contradicts existing labor laws.
Falana made this position known while presenting a paper titled Automatic Membership of Trade Unions for Workers at a national webinar on Abuse of Market Dominance and Unfair Labour Practices.
The Webinar was organized by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) in collaboration with the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos.
The controversy arose after NUPENG embarked on a strike action following allegations that Dangote Refinery compelled newly recruited drivers to sign undertakings not to join any existing oil and gas union.
The strike was later suspended after the State Security Service brokered a truce.
According to the resolution, unionization would be allowed for employees who are willing to unionize within two weeks, and the company would not create a rival union.
However, Falana argued that this arrangement is inconsistent with the Trade Union Act.
According to his argument, Falana cited multiple judicial authorities, including Nestoil v NUPENG (2012) and Eyiaromi Oladele v Attorney General, Lagos State (2017), to establish that junior workers are presumed to be automatic members of trade unions unless they formally opt out in writing.
Senior staff, however, must expressly opt in.
Falana emphasized that employers lack the legal authority to interfere in the internal affairs of trade unions or determine membership procedures.
He also noted that robust trade unionism exists in advanced capitalist economies like the United Kingdom, United States, and Japan.
Conclusively, Falana urged vigilance from both NUPENG and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), stressing that union rights are fundamental under the Nigerian Constitution, the Trade Union Act, and international labor conventions.
He declared, Employers of labor must be restrained from interfering with unionization in any manner whatsoever.
Workers are deemed to be members of their industry’s trade unions, and their only choice is whether to opt out—not whether to join.
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