PH Refinery workers threaten shutdown over seven months’ unpaid salaries

Support Staff Union members of the Port Harcourt Refining Company have protested the delay in the payment of their seven months’ salaries and the non-implementation of a new salary structure recently approved by the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Bayo Ojulari.

The workers gave the management of the NNPCL a 48-hour ultimatum to implement the new salary structure or risk the total shutdown of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, located in Eleme, Rivers State.

The protesting workers, who barricaded the entrance of the PHRC on Monday, displayed placards with various inscriptions and mounted tents in front of the refinery gate, temporarily disrupting activities at the complex.

They alleged that after the NNPCL GCEO gave the approval, the Refinery Coordinator had refused to implement it.

The aggrieved union members said the peaceful protest was against what they described as injustice and marginalisation at the refinery, and listed four key demands.

The demands include the implementation of the approved salary structure and remuneration package in accordance with the applicable approval and effective date; approval of the requested N1m housing/rent relief to alleviate accommodation challenges facing eligible support staff; urgent payment of their seven months’ outstanding salaries and other legitimate entitlements owed to affected workers; and improved consultation and effective engagement among the Refinery Coordinator, managing directors, relevant management authorities and recognised labour representatives on matters affecting workers’ welfare.

Some of the inscriptions on their placards read: “No more empty promises, January 2027 is too far to implement new salary structure,” “Refinery Coordinator must go,” and “Approved by GCEO on 1st October, rejected by RC (Refinery Coordinator), Support Staff demands that RC must go.”

Other placards read: “Workers deserve dignity: Fair pay is our right” and “Stop the delay, no more postponement.”

Speaking to newsmen during the protest, the Chairman of the PHRC Support Staff Union, Bennett Isy, said the new salary structure was supposed to take effect on October 1, 2026, but that nothing had been done.

Isy also complained about the seven months’ unpaid salaries and warned that the workers would completely shut down the company if their demands were not met.

He stated, “You cannot tell us that the GCEO of the NNPCL approved something and the RC will say no. That is insubordination. It is obvious to mention that there are 800 gorillas in the room.

“We know the forces that are backing the RC, and because of that, we are calling on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to call the RC to order. The RC should stop using the powers of Aso Rock to intimidate workers.

“We are saying that we are not backing down. We are following all due process to ensure that what rightly belongs to us gets to us; but if it is not implemented in the next 48 hours, to God, we are going to shut down this refinery. Not one soul will gain access to these premises. That I assure you.”

Other protesters who spoke lamented the hardship faced by workers following the non-payment of their salaries and the failure to approve the N1m rent relief, even as they demanded the removal of the NNPCL Refinery Coordinator, Bayo Adelere.

A female union member identified as Joy Osueiya said, “When the RC visited the last time, he said we should wait until January 2027, and we are here to say no. January 2027 is too late.

“Why will the GCEO approve something to be implemented for us on October 1, and the RC will say no? We object to it. A lot of us have lost loved ones in this refinery.

“Some of our men cannot even impregnate their wives again. Some of our colleagues have lost their lives here.”

She alleged that “some have lost their arms because of how hazardous the place is. So we are here to say no. Enough is enough. Implement it now.”

Another protesting support staff member, Godspower Nwakanji, called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene, saying, “We cannot renew our hope in hunger and poverty.

“We cannot renew our hope when there is no medical attention. We have worked for 10 years without medical response.” (Punch)