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The Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) on Thursday picketed the Forte Oil Filling Station at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos over alleged sexual harassment and victimisation of workers.
The union led by Comrade David Smart, the Lagos State Chairman of NUPENG, Petroleum Branch, accused the management of the filling station of alleged anti-labour practices.
He also alleged that female employees are subjected to alleged sexual intimidation, an accusation denied by the company,
Smart explained that interventions of the union on the issue had proved abortive in the past one year, a situation, which led to the picketing of the filling station.
He added that apart from this, the management had in the past one year continues to sack members of the union while their dues were no longer remitted to the appropriate quarters.
Smart also decried the poor remuneration of fuel attendants at the filling station and others across the country.
He said: “We decided to shut down the operations of Forte Oil because of workers’ intimidation and poor treatment by the management. They hire today and fire tomorrow.
“We have issued the management several letters intimating them of the anti-labour practices in their orgnisation, but they never responded to any of our letters. This is going to be an indefinite action that we have taken against this organisaion.
“Specifically, we are looking at the dues the workers are ready to pay, but the management is stopping them from doing so. As soon as they remit the dues to the appropriate quarters and correct the anomalies, we will leave them to continue their operations, but until then, this place remains locked.
“The pump attendants are treated poorly despite the fact that crude oil is the mainstay of our economy. I think the pump attendants are the major drivers, but they are paid peanuts and victimized.’’
“the issues raised will be looked into and resolved amicably.”
