Lagos NLC urges Dangote Industries to embrace worker unionisation and increase host community employment, citing labour law provisions

The Dangote worker unionisation debate intensified on Tuesday as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Lagos State Chapter, appealed to Dangote Industries Ltd. to allow its workers to join unions for better protection of their rights.

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Lagos NLC Chairperson, Mrs Funmi Sesi, made the call during a tour of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Dangote Fertiliser Plant alongside members of the Labour Writers Association of Nigeria.

She said unionisation would improve employee welfare and help the company address operational concerns more effectively.

“On behalf of NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, we want to say: Dangote, please give us a chance to unionise your workers,” Sesi said, while also urging greater recruitment from host communities.

Citing labour laws, she noted that 70 per cent of a workforce should come from an organisation’s catchment area, with only 30 per cent allowed to be expatriates.

Responding, Dangote Industries’ Vice President for Oil and Gas, Mr Devakumar Edwin, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to staff training, welfare, and host community engagement.

He highlighted a training centre in Obajana, Kogi State, and plans for another in Lagos, noting that 22 per cent of the company’s workforce comes from host communities, 50 per cent from the state, and the rest from across Nigeria.

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“We have to ensure that the host communities are happy; otherwise, we will not be able to work,” Edwin said.