Port Harcourt refinery workers threaten shutdown over unpaid salaries

Support staff at the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) in Rivers State, Nigeria, have issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). The workers, represented by the Support Staff Union, have threatened a total shutdown of the refinery if their demands are not met.

The union is protesting seven months of unpaid salary arrears and the failure to implement a new salary structure and remuneration package. According to union chairman Bennett Isy, the package was approved by NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer Bayo Ojulari but has allegedly been blocked by the refinery coordinator.

The workers' primary demands include the immediate implementation of the approved salary structure, payment of all outstanding seven-month salary arrears, a ₦1 million housing and rent relief package, and improved management consultation regarding worker welfare. Protesters have already staged demonstrations at the refinery entrance, temporarily disrupting activities at the complex.