The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers has issued a notice of a three-day warning strike in January over the divestment of multinationals from the country and non-payment of terminal benefits to workers.

The union, in a statement signed by its President, Igwe Achese said that the warning strike was to prepare for a nationwide strike if there was no intervention by the Federal Government.

He said that at the end of the union’s National Executive Council meeting held in Port Harcourt, it was agreed that members should start wearing red bands to work as from next week, while the petroleum tanker drivers had been instructed to put green leaves on their tankers as a sign of protest.

The NUPENG president explained that the protest was to resist the planned divestment from OML 53 and 55 operated by Chevron and OML 30 without informing the union.

Other grievances, according to Achese, are the non-payment of terminal benefits to 48 contract workers and 250 contract workers terminated in Lagos and Port Harcourt by the Nigeria Agip Oil Company, and the refusal of Mobil Producing to reinstate the 200 NUPENG members it sacked.

The statement read in part, “The union states that the date in January will be communicated to all its members, but advised them to start wearing red bands to work from next week, while the members of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers have been instructed also to put green leaves on their tankers as a protest, preparatory for the commencement of the three-day warning strike next month.

“The union stresses that it believes that whatever goodwill the government has to encourage investors to come should not lead to job loses but, job creation.”