Daily Independent Online.
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Wednesday, July 21, 2004.
11 expatriates held by oil workers, not Ijaw youths, says
Alamieyeseigha
By Emma Gbemudu,
Correspondent,
Yenagoa
Bayelsa State
Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, has dismissed reports that some expatriate
oil workers of ConOil Nigeria Limited were held hostage by Sangana community
youths last Sunday.
Alamieyeseigha, who
just arrived from a London tour, told journalists in Yenagoa that the crisis
was a trade dispute between the management of the company and the workers.
He explained that
the crisis arose when the management and workers disagreed on the payment of
workers’ terminal benefits. The governor who personally visited ConOil
platform at “Pride North Dakota,” Sangana to ensure the release of
the 11 expatriate staff, said the angry staff of the oil-servicing firm down
tools and put the expatriates on solitary confinement.
Alamiyeseigha
disclosed that the expatriates were eight French nationals, two Americans and
one Nigeria who were confined to their rooms thereby paralyzing work activities
since Sunday.
He noted that the
casual workers of the company have been complaining of working without identity
cards and employment letters.
According to the
governor, “the contract was coming to an end and the casual staff met
management to negotiate their terminal benefits but they did not arrive at a
compromise.”
As a result of this
ugly development, the workers embarked on a work to rule action to press home
their demands, he said. “The crisis is an internal matter between the
workers and the management of the oil company. The community youths are not
involved,” the governor clarified. With the intervention of the state
governor and his Deputy, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the trade dispute was amicably
resolved and the 11 expatriates staff released.
