Hardship: Petroleum station workers decry marginalisation

Petroleum Station Workers (PSW) in Nigeria have raised alarm over what they describe as marginalisation and unrealistic working conditions following the hardship currently being faced in the country.

Addressing a press conference yesterday in Kaduna, Ibrahim Zango, who spoke on behalf of the “Frustrated Petrol Station Workers” explained that PSW included cleaners, guards, station workers, pump attendants and any other person working in any petrol station.

He noted that PSWs working at independent marketers’ petrol stations received a monthly salary of between N10,000 to N15,000, while those working at the major marketers petrol stations received a monthly salary of between N15,000 to N20,000.

This, he said, was not sustainable judging by the present inflation in the country.

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He said, “Being a branch of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) just like the Petroleum Tankers Drivers Association, if you can calculate the number of petrol stations in Nigeria with at least 20 of our members in each of the stations, that will give you an idea of our population and contribution to the development of the Nigerian oil sector.

“Unfortunately, despite the vital role these workers play in our economy, one of the major setbacks of the job is the excessive maltreatment and total neglect by petroleum marketers all over the country.

“This maltreatment, which we see as a violation of our rights includes but not limited to indiscriminate sacking and dismissal, poor salaries and wages, and a poor healthcare system.”

He accused some marketers of neglecting their workers when they sustained injury in the line of duty, saying, “There is no formal agreement as regards to employment which will put into consideration acceptance of work, resignation, and sacking in the interest of equity.”

He called on the leadership of NUPENG to as a matter of urgency, organise free, fair and credible elections to usher in a new leadership at the national, state and local government levels to protect members in all the nooks and crannies of the country.