TheCable

Some staff members of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), on Tuesday, besieged the offices of the commission in Jabi and Utako, Abuja, in protest of alleged poor welfare.

According to NAN, the protesting workers gave the management a 24-hour ultimatum to address their grievances or face industrial unrest.

Okechukwu Anya, chairman of the union, Abuja branch, told journalists that the protest was to draw the attention of the management to resolve issues of staff welfare.

Anya identified the issues as non-remittance of pension deductions from staff salaries, poor working environment, insufficient working tools, unpaid staff claims, and on-call allowances.

Other issues, he said, were staff medicals, seven months of outstanding salary payments, and non-payment of outsourced personnel.

The chairman said the protest became necessary following the “nonchalant response” of the management towards resolving the issues.

Anya said the union had written several letters to the management to resolve the issues but to no avail.

He added that the protest was in line with their constitutional rights to express grievances and seek redress, especially on issues affecting their welfare, economic rights, and working conditions.

“Part of our mandate as executives of the union is to work in partnership with the management to enhance the welfare of staff and the overall growth of the organisation,” he said.

“We are appealing to the management of the commission to uphold their commitment to their workforce.

“We will continue to voice our displeasure until all issues are satisfactorily resolved.”

According to NAN, the security officers at the offices locked the premises and denied the protesters access.

The workers were said to later disperse without receiving any response from the management.