The United States (U.S.) super oil major, Chevron, has allegedly sacked 500 staff working on various projects of the company in Nigeria, worsening apprehension of mass sack rocking the oil industry.

The oil workers yesterday confirmed the mass sack.

Rising under auspices of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), the workers threatened to ground operations of the company into a total halt through industrial action.

A Chevron spokesman said he was unable to provide immediate comment.

NUPENG, in a statement jointly signed by its President and General Secretary, Williams Akporeha and Afolabi Olawale respectively, issued a seven-day ultimatum for the company to recall the staff including members of its executives affected by the exercise.

The union recalled that the oil and gas industry has had a protracted negotiation with Chevron over its plan to sack more than 70 per cent labour manpower, claiming reductions in its operations in the country.

But, the intervention of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) and even the Ministry of Labour, compelled the company to reduce such to only 30 per cent, cutting across all unions and non-unionised staff.

The union, however, claimed that rather than respect the agreement reached, Chevron went ahead to sack only NUPENG members, including its executives, in violation of the agreement, while others were not affected by the purge.

It claimed that from the 1,856 labour manpower contract staff in Chevron, NUPENG had 1,120 members, PENGASSAN had 213, while the non-unionised staff were 523.

According to NUPENG, it was also agreed that Chevron Nigeria would not in any guise to change the labour manpower to service contract, another agreement it said the management violated.

It added: “Unfortunately, immediately after the agreement was reached, Chevron started executing the exercise in blatant violation of the agreed terms, ostensibly to either put NUPENG in bad light as troublesome or for extinction because only NUPENG members have been exited from work, leaving behind the non-unionised workers and PENGASSAN members.

“It is further embarrassing to see that NUPENG executives are also part of those already locked out. From our record, over 500 of NUPENG members are being exited.

“We further learnt that the intention of Chevron is to change the contract to short term service contract and we see this as unfair and breach of agreement reached with us in bad faith.”

The union demanded the immediate recall of all its executives affected by the purge, adding that the percentage of reduction agreed should be spread to the three groups as agreed to avoid suspicion that it was the target of the purge in the company.

“Should Chevron Nigeria Limited and its contractors fail to honour or comply with our demands within the next seven days, we would also not hesitate to take all necessary legal options available to us; including industrial actions,” the statement read.

NUPENG is one of Nigeria’s main oil and gas trade unions in the Nigeria’s oil industry and it had, before now, being at loggerheads with Chevron over a staffing dispute.

Nigeria, an OPEC member, is Africa’s largest oil producer and crude sales make up around 90% of foreign exchange in Africa’s largest economy.

The dilapidated state of its refineries means the country imports most of its refined fuel.