Mkpoikana Udoma 30 May 2017, Sweetcrude, Port Harcourt – Mr. Ikechukwu Foster Onyefuru, the newly-elected Chairman of Port Harcourt Zone of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, says the welfare and concern of oil workers and Nigerians in general, would be his utmost priority.
Onyefuru was elected chairman at a conference of PENGASSAN Port Harcourt zone in Owerri, Imo State.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with SweetcrudeReports in Owerri, the new zonal chairman said: “What Nigerians and our members should expect from us is that we are going to bring about a process and an institution that will be able to drive the welfare of our members and protect the jobs of our members from the current economic downturn in the country.
“Working together, this newly-elected team will establish an institution that will be relevant to begin to provide solutions and partner with both government and private entities, as well as other labour centres to drive positive change that will reduce the level of redundancy, pay cuts, job losses and all other negative incidents that the Nigerian workers are facing today.”
He stated that the primary role of labour union was to protect the rights of workers, but maintained that “today the rights of workers are being eroded everyday, employers get involved in anti-labour activities, ignoring established rules and laws”.
“This team will work very hard to ensure that the primary role (which is to protect the rights of Nigerian workers) is taken as key process that we must drive within the next three years,” he assured.
Onyefuru, who is from Shell Branch of PENGASSAN, commended the immediate-past Zonal Executive Council of PENGASSAN, and also pledged to partner with the Trade Union Congress, TUC, to drive home his vision for the union.
“We thank the immediate-past executive council and promise to start from where they stopped, and areas they did not do well, we will ensure that we develop processes that will ensure we tap from such areas; but the summary is, in today’s contest, there is no loser. All of us are winners and at the end of the day, it is PENGASSAN Port Harcourt Zone that has won,” he said.
