Dangote Refinery offers to pay salaries for 5 years to sacked workers

‎The Dangote Refinery has proposed paying dismissed workers their salaries for five years without requiring them to report to work. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has rejected the offer, demanding redeployment instead.
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‎During recent negotiations involving the refinery management, union representatives, and federal government officials, Dangote Refinery presented an unconventional proposal to continue salary payments for sacked workers over a five-year period while barring them from entering the facility.
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‎This measure emanates from the fear that some dismissed employees might sabotage operations if allowed to remain on site. The government expressed concerns about the financial burden of such an arrangement, but the refinery argued that this approach may result to less risk and cost compared to the potential damage sabotage could cause.
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‎However, PENGASSAN strongly opposed this plan, insisting that the affected workers should be reassigned to other divisions within the Dangote Group to retain their employment status and dignity.
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‎Okugbawa compared the mediation efforts of the unions to resolving differences between a husband and wife, stressing the need for peaceful coexistence post-negotiation.
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‎He dismissed rumours that workers might resign if posted to distant locations, affirming that employees are expected to comply with redeployment orders and continue working.
‎Background context reveals the refinery recently dismissed several workers due to alleged sabotage, escalating tensions that led to protests and a national strike call by PENGASSAN. Government intervention and court orders helped bring both sides to the negotiation table.
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