Support staff members of the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) have protested over seven months of unpaid salaries and the alleged failure to implement a new salary structure approved by the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari.
The workers, who protested at the refinery in Eleme, Rivers State, gave the NNPCL management a 48-hour ultimatumto implement the approved salary structure, warning that they would shut down the facility if their demands were not met.
The protesters barricaded the entrance of the refinery on Monday, mounted tents and displayed placards demanding action on their outstanding salaries, remuneration and other welfare issues.
The union members alleged that although the NNPCL GCEO had approved the new salary structure, the Refinery Coordinator, Bayo Adelere, had refused to implement it.
The workers said their protest was aimed at drawing attention to what they described as injustice and marginalisation at the refinery.
Their demands include immediate implementation of the approved salary structure and remuneration package from the applicable effective date, approval of a N1m housing and rent relief for eligible support staff, payment of seven months of outstanding salaries and other legitimate entitlements, as well as improved consultation between management and recognised labour representatives on workers’ welfare.
Some of the placards displayed by the protesters read, “No more empty promises, January 2027 is too far to implement new salary structure,” “Refinery Coordinator must go,” and “Workers deserve dignity: Fair pay is our right.”
Speaking during the protest, Chairman of the PHRC Support Staff Union, Bennett Isy, said the new salary structure was supposed to take effect on October 1, 2026, but had not been implemented.
Isy also raised concerns over the seven months of unpaid salaries and warned that the workers would shut down the refinery if their demands were not addressed within the 48-hour ultimatum.
“You cannot tell us that the GCEO of the NNPCL approved something and the RC will say no. That is insubordination.”
He appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene and called on the Refinery Coordinator to stop what he described as intimidation of 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.”
Other workers also complained about the financial hardship caused by the delayed salaries and the failure to approve the proposed rent relief.
A female union member identified as Joy Osueiya said workers had been asked to wait until January 2027 for the implementation of the new salary structure, which she described as unacceptable.
“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.”
Osueiya also alleged that workers had suffered serious health and safety challenges while working at the refinery.
“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 further alleged that some workers had suffered serious injuries while working at the facility.
Another support staff member, Godspower Nwakanji, appealed to President Tinubu to intervene in the dispute, citing the impact of the unpaid salaries and what he described as inadequate medical support.
“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.”
The workers maintained that they would follow due process but insisted that they would proceed with the planned shutdown if the NNPCL management failed to address their demands within the 48-hour deadline.
The allegations and demands raised by the workers had not been independently confirmed by NNPCL management in the material available for this report.
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