SAPELE/Nigeria: Contract Staff of Seplat Oil Company in Sapele have shut down the Sapele base office while protesting the non-implementation of pay rise by Seplat management.
Over a week now, the contract staff had remained at the gate of the base office day and night, preventing the entrance of other contract staff to the base office apart from direct staff.
The contract staff involved in the peaceful protest cut across Drivers, cleaners, cooks, etc.
Speaking with Mr. Jerry Ufuoma, a driver with Seplat Oil company and one of the protesters, he said since 2010 when he was employed, his salary had remained the same and all promises of increment were never done, all entreaties on this issue to the management and the community have proved abortive.
Ufuoma said they are demanding salary increments, staffing of persons that are due for staffing, and promoting qualified contract staff to “Direct” contract staff.
Mr. Omogba Felix, another driver said they work in the same conditions as other staff that is being paid huge amounts of money but the peanuts that are paid to them have remained the same over the years.
Omogba said this agitation had been on for about 5 years now with no response from the management despite the increment in the cost of living.
Omogba pointed out that at a time a committee was set up to investigate how much other oil companies pay their contract staff.
He said, to date, the report of that committee was never revealed.
All attempts to speak to the management at the Sapele base office on the issue proved abortive as no one was willing to speak to the press.
