The National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association, PENGASSAN, announced Tuesday the suspension of their proposed strike.

The decision to suspend the strike is contained in a communique issued at the end of a six-hour meeting between the representatives of the unions and the federal government held at the ministry of labour and productivity in Abuja.

The ministers of labour and petroleum resources, Emeka Wogu and Diezani Alison-Madueke respectively, signed the communique on behalf of the federal government, while the presidents of NUPENG and PENGASSAN, Igwe Achese and Babatunde Ogun signed on behalf of their unions.

According to the communique read by Wogu on behalf of all the parties, both unions have agreed to engage in dialogue with the federal government to develop viable and workable business models for the country’s refineries.

“Based on the above understanding, the trade unions in the oil and gas sector shall not embark on any form of industrial actions over the subject matter. The Federal Government is not selling the nation’s refineries,” the communiqué read.

Others who attended the meeting included the permanent secretaries of labour and petroleum resources ministries, Clement Illoh and Danladi Kefasi respectively, as well as national executive members of the two unions.