Workers at the Port Harcourt Refining Company have protested over seven months of unpaid salaries and the delayed implementation of an approved salary structure, threatening to shut down operations if their demands are not addressed within 48 hours.
Workers under the aegis of the Support Staff Union of the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) have staged a protest over seven months of unpaid salaries and the alleged refusal by the refinery’s management to implement a newly approved salary structure.
The workers barricaded the entrance to the refinery in Rivers State, mounted tents at the gate and displayed placards demanding immediate action on their grievances.
They also warned that they would shut down the refinery within 48 hours if their demands were not addressed.
Among the inscriptions displayed by the protesters were: “No more empty promises, January 2027 is too far to implement new salary structure,” “Refinery Coordinator must go,” and “Approved by GCEO on 1st October, rejected by RC. Support Staff demands that RC must go.”
The workers alleged that Bayo Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), had approved a new salary structure and remuneration package for support staff, but that the refinery coordinator had failed to implement the directive.
They described the protest as a peaceful demonstration against what they termed injustice, marginalisation and poor treatment of workers.
The union listed four major demands: immediate implementation of the approved salary structure; payment of seven months’ salary arrears; approval of a N1 million housing and rent relief package; and improved engagement between management and labour representatives on workers’ welfare.
Speaking during the protest, Bennett Isy, chairman of the PHRC Support Staff Union, questioned why a directive allegedly approved by the NNPC chief executive had not been implemented.
According to him, the refinery coordinator had no authority to disregard an approval from the NNPC leadership.
The union chairman also appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the dispute and compel the refinery coordinator to implement the approved salary structure.
Isy further alleged that workers had been subjected to intimidation but insisted that the union would continue to pursue its demands through due process.
He warned that the workers would shut down the facility if their demands were not met within 48 hours.
“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, we are going to shut down this refinery.”
Another protesting worker, Joy Osueiya, said the workers had rejected a proposal to defer implementation of the salary structure until January 2027.
She said the workers considered the proposed delay unacceptable, particularly because they believed the new structure had already been approved for implementation from October 1.
Osueiya also raised concerns about the working conditions at the refinery, alleging that several workers had suffered serious injuries and health challenges because of the hazardous nature of their jobs.
She claimed that some employees had lost their lives or suffered life-changing injuries while working at the facility.
“Some have lost their arms because of how hazardous the place is,” she said, insisting that the workers had reached the point where they could no longer accept what they described as neglect.
Another worker, Godspower Nwakanji, appealed to President Tinubu to intervene, citing the economic hardship faced by workers who have gone for months without receiving their salaries.
The protest comes amid the continued shutdown of the Port Harcourt refinery for maintenance, according to the NNPC.
The development could raise fresh concerns about the operational status of the facility and the welfare of its workforce, particularly as the government continues efforts to restore Nigeria’s ageing refineries to full production.