…Sack rumour handiwork of mischief makers – NNPC Spokesman
There are news reports that the newly inaugurated Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited is set to forcefully sack not less than 500 staff.
But the company reacted yesterday saying the sack rumour is the handwork of mischief makers.
The news reports say the affected staff have been given the first week of August to take a pay out package and leave ahead of their statutory time to retire from the company. The information is that they would risk being sacked much later and lose their entitlements if they refuse the company offer.
The category of staff affected in the current ease-off exercise includes staff that were naturally going to retire by 2022, 2023 and 2024. The staff were affected were said to have been contacted through mails.
This company decision is said to have not gone down well with some top management staff, especially at the level of group general managers and general manager cadres, even though there is the incentive of earning half of their statutory salaries until the time would naturally retire from the company.
Group chief executive officer of the company, Mr. Mele Kyari was reported to have encouraged the staff involved to take the offer or regret it.
The general managers and group general managers that are against the retirement allegedly wanted to complete their official tenures, and retire when they attain 60 years of age.
A portal that would close by the first week of August, is said to have been opened online with points to click, one for acceptance of the severance exercise and the other for the rejection of the letter, whichever way any of the affected officials choose.
But in a reaction yesterday to the workers’ sack news the NNPC group general manager, group public affairs, Mr. Garba Deen Muhammad, said the report was totally misleading, stressing that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) insulates workers from the arbitrary sack and salary cuts in the implementation of the Act.
He explained that what the NNPC management did is to propose early retirement for staff due to exit between now and 2024 and gave them a juicy package.
The move by the new NNPC management, is to revitalize the system and create the opportunity to inject new blood into the new NNPC Ltd. “That is not the same thing as the staff being sacked. If it is a sack situation, then the unions would have come smoking hot, and agitating.
“We didn’t sack anyone. Even the PIA doesn’t allow that. Somebody sat somewhere and wrote what he felt like. Everywhere would be tense. For the atmosphere to be calm simply means the sack report is not true,” the spokesman said.
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