Warri – Activities at the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC), in Warri, Delta state, were yesterday brought to a halt as protesters in their numbers, kicked against the Management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) over hundreds of casual workers in the company.
The protest which took place inside the premises of the WRPC, started around 9am, Thursday.
The protesting workers, some of whom have worked for 28 years, are demanding “conversion from casual to permanent staff, increase in salary, payment of all outstanding allowances, better working condition and welfare”.
Some are requesting payoffs, since the NNPC management has “refused” to yield to their demand for regularization over the years.
Calling on the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari to urgently address the matter, the casual staff, numbering 336, warned that there will be no resumption of work until their demands are met.
They accused the NNPC management of consistently lying and failing to honour promises made over the issue that has lingered for many years.
Bearing leaves and placards with inscriptions such as “No conversion, no quick fix,” “15, 25, 27 years of slavery must stop,” “NNPC stop technical lies,” “WRPC, KRPC, PRPC must work,” “Increase our salary,” among others, they chanted solidarity songs.
According to one of the protesting staff (name withheld), “the workers want to leave the job and they want the management to pay them off since the management don’t need their services.
“On the ground that the management still want their services and want to keep them, the workers are demanding for their conversion from causal staff to permanent staff of the organization”.
It will be noted that the same workers had in 2019 and 2021 protested over the same issues.
It was gathered that WRPC host communities’ leaders who tried to intervene in the past are currently displeased with the disposition of the NNPC management on the matter.
