The Nigeria Labour Congress has urged Dangote Industries Ltd. to allow its employees to join workers’ unions to ensure the protection of their rights.

Its chairwoman in Lagos, Funmi Sesi, made the appeal during a tour of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Dangote Fertiliser Plant by members of the Labour Writers Association of Nigeria and NLC officials on Tuesday.

Ms Sesi said that unionisation would help in organising workers and addressing their concerns, adding that it would also help their employers improve operations.

“On behalf of the NLC president, Comrade Joe Ajaero, we want to say:  Dangote, please give us a chance to unionise your workers,” Ms Sesi said.

She also urged the company to employ more indigenes of its host communities. The labour leader stated that labour law stipulates that 70 per cent of the workforce should be from an organisation’s catchment area, and 30 percent can be expatriates.

Devakumar Edwin, the vice-president of Dangote (oil and gas)., said that the company was committed to training and employing members of  its host communities. Mr Edwin said that the company had a well-established training centre at Obajana in Kogi.

He added that the company planned to establish another training centre  in Lagos. Mr Edwin said that the Dangote Group had become a nurturing ground for Nigerian engineers, scientists, and technicians, many of whom had gone on to work as expatriates in various countries.

Mr Edwin assured the labour leader of the company’s commitment to human capital development, staff welfare, and overall well-being of the economy.

“We have to ensure that the host communities are happy; otherwise, we will not be able to work. If  someone is interested in his business, his first focus will be to ensure that the host communities are happy,” he said.

According to him, the company employed  22 per cent of its workforce from its host  communities, 50 per cent from the state, and the rest from other parts.

(NAN)