There has been a sharp decline in the amount and availability of jobs in the oil and gas sector according to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) .
According to the Punch, the National President, PENGASSAN, Mr. Francis Johnson, noted that there had been massive and unprecedented loss of jobs in the oil and gas industry globally and in Nigeria. He reckons that there have been a loss of around a 150,000 jobs in the indutry between 2013 and 2016, an alarmingly high number.
Johnson stated this in Abuja at the Save Nigeria Oil and Gas industry Roundtable Conference where he made a presentation.
The Trade Union Congress, Rivers State Chapter, Mr. Chika Onuegbu, who was filling in for Mr. Johnson said
“There is also increasing use of contract staffing, outsourcing and other precarious work forms as employers look for new ways to cut cost. We have also seen increasing conversion of regular jobs to contract jobs under all manner of guises.
“The threat to decent work in the Nigerian oil and gas industry is very serious and this has led to increased industrial unrest in the industry, thereby worsening the already difficult operating environment in the sensitive industry.”