Oil industry reforms; PENGASSAN charges workers to brace up

Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has charged its workers to brace up in the performance of their duties to enable them confront challenges that will accompany reforms in the oil and gas industry.

PENGASSAN President, Comrade Babatunde Ogun, stated this during a just concluded three day Synergy/Workshop on “Impacting the Right Culture in trade Union Services on PENGASSAN Staff,” organised by the union for its employees at Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, between July 9 and 11, 2012.

 “Going forward, the terrain for doing our jobs will not be an easy one for the Nigerian nation and for the oil and gas industry. It will be tight because of the ongoing reforms in the oil and gas industry. Such reforms such as the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), unbundling of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and the Nigerian Content Development Act among others will impact on the industrial relations in the industry.

The union president stated that the staff appraisal system will be reviewed and base on performance level of individual rather that collective to achieve optimum productivity and the growth of the association.

He noted that the staff should be able to checkmate excesses of the branches and elected officers with their training and expertise to develop the union, saying that “Staff is individually responsible for their actions and inactions in the union.”

Speaking on the training, some employees lauded the management of PENGASSAN, especially the President for organising the workshop, saying that “This will be the first time that all staff of PENGASSAN would come together under one roof to be trained and interacted.”

According to the Media and Information Officer of union, Comrade Babatunde Oke, described the Synergy/Workshop as an eye opener to all staff on opportunities and advantages that abound in the union to develop themselves and the union.

The Assistant General Secretary in charge of Port Harcourt Zone, Comrade Sunny Onyemachi, said that the training will enable staff to identify and improve weaknesses and advantages in the union.

On his own, the Assistant General Secretary, Research and Development, Comrade Joseph oshiokpekhai, who packaged the staff training, said that the workshop was designed to help staff identify and work towards achieving the union’s vision, mission and goals as well as developing themselves.

He said, “There is need for all staff to imbibe the right attitude and culture to work as a way of developing themselves and growing the union, and I think the workshop had achived its aim.

“During the three days, we have been able to tell ourselves the truth about one another and we were able to identify where we were lacking and where we were good. We were also able to chart plans to take care of our weaknesses and improve on them to grow the union.”