Support staff of the Warri Refining & Petrochemical Company (WRPC) in Delta State have launched an indefinite strike, shutting down operations in protest against what they describe as poor conditions of service by the company’s management.
The staff, who gathered in large numbers, blocked the entrance to the company.
The peaceful protesters, chanting solidarity songs while bearing placards with various inscriptions, also demanded an adjustment to their welfare, which they described as “workplace slavery.”
They vowed to remain at the gate until their demands are met.
The leader of the support staff (WRPC), Dafe Ighomiteso, who spoke on behalf of the protesters, said that the support staff make up 80% of the entire workforce of Warri Refinery.
“It’s sad to note that we are here protesting against workplace slavery,” he said.
Ighomiteso mentioned that they have been protesting since 2015, pointing out, “We have a compendium, the workplace. It’s a five-page document which we promised to make available to the public after this briefing.”
According to Ighomiteso, “We’ve been agitating for a single item (good condition of service).”
He said the cleaners who work in the hazardous facility only recently started receiving thirty-four thousand, five hundred naira (#34,500) as their monthly salary.
“For the support staff, the engineers, the technicians, and every technocrat here, only recently, we started receiving ninety thousand naira (#90,000), and the highest is #165,000.”
“We don’t have insurance coverage. None of us here have medical allowance. We are not pensionable. We don’t have transport allowance, we don’t have housing allowance. We don’t have meal allowance, and we are saying here that we are not slaves.”
Ighomiteso added that some of the support staff have been working there for about eighteen (18) years.
“We are not asking that we should be paid what they’re paying their staff, but we are saying that what’s commensurate to the support staff of all the SBUs and CSUs of NNPC should be considered, especially in the oil and gas industry. We are supposed to be protesting against casualization, but it’s unfortunate that nobody wants to cry for us. Even the nation forbids casualization, but nobody is speaking for us.”
The support staff pledged their unwavering support for the mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration in ensuring that the refineries in the country are revived.
Another protester, Innocent Ileleji, a cleaner/gardener, corroborated Ighomiteso’s position, saying, “We are being paid thirty-four thousand, five hundred (#34,500) naira.”
He added that all they wanted was a review of their salary, which they were promised in 2013.
Ileleji noted that some of them, cleaners/gardeners, are being owed their meager salaries, which cannot take care of their families. He stressed, “The amount they’re paying us is far too small. Management should look into it.”
Elohor Poko, a support staff member who also spoke with our correspondent, said their salaries are very, very poor. She called on the General Chief Officer (GCO) to look into the matter and consider their plight by taking positive actions to improve their welfare.
A source within WRPC, who wished to remain anonymous, said that all the components of the plant are down due to ongoing maintenance.
It was noted that only the Turbine Unit of the plant is working, just to keep hope alive in the facility.
He also mentioned that the refinery is 60% completed.
All efforts to get the management of WRPC to speak on the matter were unsuccessful, as they refused to comment on the issue.
