Support Staff Union members of the Port Harcourt Refining Company have staged a protest over seven months of unpaid salaries and the failure to implement a new salary structure recently approved by the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Bayo Ojulari.

The workers handed NNPCL management a 48-hour ultimatum to implement the new structure or face a total shutdown of the refinery, which is located in Eleme, Rivers State.

On Monday, the protesters barricaded the entrance to the PHRC, carried placards bearing various inscriptions and pitched tents in front of the refinery gate, temporarily disrupting activities at the complex.

They alleged that the Refinery Coordinator had refused to implement the new salary structure after the NNPCL GCEO approved it.

The union members described their peaceful protest as a stand against what they called injustice and marginalisation at the refinery, and presented four key demands.

The first demand is the implementation of the approved salary structure and remuneration package in line with the applicable approval and effective date.

The second is approval of the requested ₦1m housing and rent relief to ease the accommodation challenges facing eligible support staff.

The third is urgent payment of the seven months of outstanding salaries and other legitimate entitlements owed to affected workers.

The fourth is improved consultation and effective engagement among the Refinery Coordinator, managing directors, relevant management authorities and recognised labour representatives on matters affecting workers’ welfare.

Some of the inscriptions on their placards read: “No more empty promises, January 2027 is too far to implement new salary structure,” “Refinery Coordinator must go,” and “Approved by GCEO on 1st October, rejected by RC (Refinery Coordinator), Support Staff demands that RC must go.”

Other placards read: “Workers deserve dignity: Fair pay is our right” and “Stop the delay, no more postponement.”

Speaking to newsmen during the protest, the Chairman of the PHRC Support Staff Union, Bennett Isy, said the new salary structure was supposed to take effect on October 1, 2026, but that nothing had been done.

Isy also complained about the seven months of unpaid salaries and warned that the workers would completely shut down the company if their demands were not met.

He stated, “You cannot tell us that the GCEO of the NNPCL approved something and the RC will say no. That is insubordination. It is obvious to mention that there are 800 gorillas in the room.

“We know the forces that are backing the RC, and because of that, we are calling on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to call the RC to order. The RC should stop using the powers of Aso Rock to intimidate workers.

“We are saying that we are not backing down. We are following all due process to ensure that what rightly belongs to us gets to us; but if it is not implemented in the next 48 hours, to God, we are going to shut down this refinery. Not one soul will gain access to these premises. That I assure you.”

Other protesters who spoke lamented the hardship workers face as a result of the unpaid salaries and the failure to approve the ₦1m rent relief, and demanded the removal of the NNPCL Refinery Coordinator, Bayo Adelere.

A female union member identified as Joy Osueiya said, “When the RC visited the last time, he said we should wait until January 2027, and we are here to say no. January 2027 is too late.

“Why will the GCEO approve something to be implemented for us on October 1, and the RC will say no? We object to it. A lot of us have lost loved ones in this refinery.

“Some of our men cannot even impregnate their wives again. Some of our colleagues have lost their lives here.”

She alleged that “some have lost their arms because of how hazardous the place is. So we are here to say no. Enough is enough. Implement it now.”

Another protesting support staff member, Godspower Nwakanji, called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene, saying, “We cannot renew our hope in hunger and poverty.

“We cannot renew our hope when there is no medical attention. We have worked for 10 years without medical response.”