Warri Refinery Staff Embark On Indefinite Strike Over ‘Workplace Slavery’

Support staff at the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) in Delta State have embarked on an indefinite strike, grounding operations at the facility over what they describe as poor working conditions and neglect by management.

The aggrieved workers, staging a peaceful protest, blocked access to the refinery while chanting solidarity songs and holding placards with messages condemning their conditions of service.

Naijaonpoint gathered that the demonstrators vowed not to back down until their demands are met.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, the support staff leader, Dafe Ighomiteso, revealed that they represent 80% of WRPC’s workforce. “It’s sad to note that we are here protesting against workplace slavery,” he declared.

He said their agitation for better welfare dated back to 2015, adding that they have compiled a five-page document outlining their grievances, which they intend to release to the public.

“We have a compendium, the workplace. It’s a five-page document which we promised to make available to the public after this briefing,” he stated.

Ighomiteso highlighted that their core demand has remained unchanged: “We’ve been agitating for a single item (good condition of service).”

He lamented that even cleaners at the facility only recently began earning a paltry ₦34,500 as monthly salary. “For the support staff, the engineers, the technicians, and every technocrat here, only recently, we started receiving ninety thousand naira (₦90,000), and the highest is ₦165,000.”

He further disclosed that they lack basic benefits. “We don’t have insurance coverage. None of us here have medical allowance. We are not pensionable. We don’t have transport allowance, we don’t have housing allowance. We don’t have meal allowance, and we are saying here that we are not slaves.”

Some support staff, he added, have been working at the refinery for up to 18 years. “We are not asking that we should be paid what they’re paying their staff, but we are saying that what’s commensurate to the support staff of all the SBUs and CSUs of NNPC should be considered, especially in the oil and gas industry. We are supposed to be protesting against casualization, but it’s unfortunate that nobody wants to cry for us. Even the nation forbids casualization, but nobody is speaking for us.”

Despite their frustrations, the workers pledged support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration and its efforts to revitalise Nigeria’s refineries.

Another protester, Innocent Ileleji, who works as a cleaner and gardener, confirmed the ₦34,500 monthly salary. “We are being paid thirty-four thousand, five hundred (₦34,500) naira,” he said.

According to him, they were promised a salary review as far back as 2013, which has yet to materialise. “The amount they’re paying us is far too small. Management should look into it,” he stressed.

Elohor Poko, another support staff member, also decried the poor pay and called on the General Chief Officer to intervene and improve their welfare. “Their salaries are very, very poor,” she emphasised.

According to Daily Post, an insider at WRPC disclosed that the plant’s operations have largely halted due to ongoing maintenance work.

He noted that only the turbine unit remains functional to keep the facility minimally active and added that the refinery’s rehabilitation is currently at 60% completion.