The minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige has in the past couple of weeks met several times with workers in the oil sector under the auspices of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) in an attempt to assure them of job security despite threats from oil companies to lay off workers.

However, despite assurances by the minister of labour, there is great anxiety amongst workers in the oil sector about the looming mass sack. The question is just a matter of when and who may be affected.

Recent reports suggest that Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell, have unveiled plans to sack 18,500 of thier employees globally, including those in their services in Nigeria in 2016.

While Shell revealed its plans to sack 10,000 staff and slash direct contractor positions in the company’s unedited full year 2015 results, Chevron announced it would continue the process that began in 2015, and complete the sacking of 8,500 staff in its services globally by the end of 2016.

The United States oil company revealed it would lay off 7,000 staff before 2016 ends in addition to the 1,500 it announced early in 2015, according to a 2015 last quarter report published by New York Times.

NUPENG in a statement by its president, Igwe Achese, described the planned sack as alarming, warning that it may be forced to embark on industrial action if the federal government fails to stop the companies from sending oil workers in Nigeria to the unemployment market.

The apprehension forced NUPENG and PENGASSAN to petition the minster of labour and employment raising issues bordering on industrial and employment relations – retrenchment, casualization, redundancy as well as unfair treatment of Nigerians in the employ of the oil majors.

But despite appeals from the government, the oil majors appear determined to cut their work force.

After a scheduled meeting between the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, and a majorirty of oil companies in Nigeria, the minister called on operators in the sector to shelve such plans so as to avoid throwing the nation into a huge social upheaval.

The minister emphasised that the nation was already facing a lot of social security problems and could not to afford more problems through job cuts; assuring that the scheduled meeting will look at all the issue.

“The oil majors in Nigeria must therefore bend backwards and see what they can plough back from their profits to keep Nigerian workers on their duty posts,” the minister said.

Speaking further, Ngige assured the oil majors that the current economic downturn would not last forever.

According to him, “keep the existing jobs. We have a downturn today but you can be sure it will not last forever. If you are not creating new jobs, let us keep the ones we have. That is what this government is pleading and we must emphasise that is what we want.”

He said because oil and gas sector remained the financial backbone of the country’s economy for now, any threat of industrial unrest therein should be nipped in the bud.

Speaking on behalf of the International Oil Compananies (IOCs) at the meeting, which included Agip, Mobil producing, Chevron Addax and Total, the Director of Human Resources and Medical, Chevron Nigeria Limited, Ihuoma Onyearughe, appealed for understanding and collaboration on the part of the government in view of the current challenges facing the industry.

“The issue of laying people off is not a decision that comes lightly. I will not come here to tell you that people are being laid off or not. The situation in the oil company is dire. We want to ask for more understanding in appreciation of the challenges we face.

“Nevertheless, we have heard the minister and we will take your message back to our various companies,” she said.