Nigeria Oil Workers’ Unions Threaten Strike Over Violence

The two main Nigerian oil workers’ unions on Thursday threatened a strike next week to protest against rising violence in the country’s petroleum-producing southern region.

Dozens of workers, foreign and Nigerian, have been seized in attacks in the Niger Delta region in recent weeks, and the unions said they would protest by a work stoppage beginning Monday.


The 20,000 blue- and white-collar union members “are of the opinion that the environment is not safe enough for them to continue operation,” said Peter Akpatason, one of the union’s leaders on behalf of both unions.

“So they want to stay at home pending when the government and other stakeholders are able to put arrangements in place to guarantee safety and security of life and property,” he told reporters after meeting with Energy Minister Edmund Daukoru.

Dow Jones Newswires