Contract workers at the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, yesterday, staged protests over prolonged non-payment of salaries, amid continued non-functionality of the facilities.

The aggrieved workers, who claimed outstanding wages of about a year, threatened to occupy the refineries for seven days if their entitlements were not paid.

At the Port Harcourt Refinery, protesters, comprising cleaners, gardeners, water suppliers, security personnel, drivers, media aides, and community-based contractors, blocked the facility’s main entrance in the early hours of yesterday.

Though the refineries are not functioning, The Guardian learned that these workers help to keep the premises going.

Similar protests were reported at the Warri Refinery, where a cleaner was seen in a viral video occupying parts of the premises, appealing for intervention.

The Guardian gathered that the affected workers, many of whom are graduates, were engaged through third-party contractors rather than directly by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

Under the engagement arrangement, contractors are required to pay workers upfront for about three months before being reimbursed by refinery management.

However, the workers alleged that reimbursements have been delayed, leaving some contractors unable to continue payments. While a few contractors reportedly sustained salaries from personal funds, others were constrained by prevailing economic conditions.

They blamed the development on the refinery’s Coordinator, Bayo Adenrele, and called for his immediate sack.

One of the protesters, ThankGod Friday, said the immediate trigger for the protest was the non-payment of transport contractors.

“The bus contractors, who convey workers, have not been paid. Their contract ended on Saturday, January 31, and by Monday, many workers could not report to duty because there was no transportation. That was when we decided to protest and draw government attention to our suffering,” he said.

The protesters accused refinery management of insensitivity, alleging mismanagement and calling for urgent intervention and payment of outstanding salaries.

Speaking during the protest, the Chairman of the Joint Venture Recovery Committee (JVRC), Eleme, Mr Tony Obari, lamented what he described as a lack of concern for workers’ welfare.

“Area Five was working at some point, but was stopped, and nothing has come up since then. Meanwhile, products are brought in for us to buy at very high costs. Service providers are also owed, and some projects have stalled due to non-release of funds,” he said. (The Guardian)