WRPC CASUAL STAFF DISRUPT OPERATIONS OVER REGULARIZATION OF THEIR APPOINTMENTS
OGHENETEJIRI NYERHOVWO
Activities at the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) was paralyzed on Wednesday, July 3, 2019 as support of the company embarked on a peaceful and indefinite protest over failure by the management of the Refinery to fulfill an alleged agreement to regularize their engagement as full staff.
The casual workers numbering over five hundred (500) including members of the host communities (Ekpan, Ubeji, Aja-Etan, Ifie-Kporo and Ijala-Ikeren) to the WRPC are insisting that unless the Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) address their plight, the protest will continue.
The support workers who locked the entrance to the company and later barricaded it with tents due to rainfall are demanding conversion to staff of the company.
According to our correspondent who was on ground to monitor the protest, security operatives including policemen and officers of the Nigerian Army were also on standby.
It could be recalled that this is the third time of late that the casual workers are protesting over the security of their jobs.
They were armed with placards with inscriptions such as “NNPC management, we need our conversion to staff after working for sixteen years”, “WRPC, staff cannot continue to be slaves in our motherland”, “President Buhari take NNPC support staff to our Next Level,” “Enough of modernised slavery in NNPC/WRPC”, “NASS kindly save us from NNPC slavery,” “Age is no more on our side. We have spent our useful age with NNPC,” “NNPC employ us with your children, what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander,” among many others.
Speaking, some of the protesters lamented that they have spent their productive years working for WRPC, they alleged that despite series of promises to convert them to staff of the company, the second batch of staff recruitment is ongoing at the federal capital territory without them participating.
They complained further that even though most of them are graduates and certified skill workers that have been effectively doing the jobs, the company recently came up with some criteria, such as having a First class or Masters Degree, as conditions to become staff.
They called on President Muhammadu Buhari to wade into the matter so as to ensure that they go to their “Next Level” just as they described the continuous treatment as “slavery.”
Speaking, Mr. Edemirukewan Emedwor, a casual staff and from one of the host communities said that “the protest is not meant to take laws into our hands but to fight for our rights as citizens of this country and at the same time as indigenes of the area. We are not slaves, we are putting our strength and resources into this job. What do they need to do for us? It is to convert us so we can have job security.”
Also speaking, Mr. Samuel Ihadieu noted that in spite of the exposure to toxic elements and hard labour put in every day by the casual workers, management “in the last couple of months said we are incompetent. We are contributing our quota to the national purse and so we demand full conversion.”
Efforts by Mr. Hope Akpodiete, Chief Security Officer and Engr. Solomon Siakpere, Administrative Manager to calm frayed nerves as well as persuade some of the protesters into allowing some persons to go into the plant to attend to supposed safety issues and give up the protests was fruitless.
In his address, Engr. Siakpere has this to say, “we are familiar with what is ongoing. As we are gathered like this, we must be able to translate the gathering into action not make noise, so that we can make progress. This is to get attention and that has been achieved. Be rest assured that our corporate management is aware.”
The protest has the support of youth body of all the ethnic nationalities in Delta state some members of executive of some of the ethnic groups were on ground vowing that they would not leave the gate of the refinery until the Group Managing Director of the NNPC comes over to address them.
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