By Adaobi Rhema Oguejiofor
Employees of Mormar Marines Limited, a pipeline surveillance firm in the Oil Mining Lease 30 (OML 3O), have shut down oil installations in the facility over an alleged non-payment of six months salaries owed by the company.
The shutdown, which took place on Thursday, also caused disruptions to the operations and oil activities of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) Limited at the Erhiemu Pigging Manifold in the Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State.
The aggrieved workers had assembled at the oil well’s flow station on Thursday morning, carrying placards with different inscriptions on them.
The protesters who alleged that NPDC had concluded plans to terminate their jobs by revoking the contract from their contracting firm, Momar Marines Limited, also accused NPDC of failing to make sufficient arrangements to pay the six months’ outstanding salaries owed to the employees before trying to dismiss them.
A Coordinator at Mormar Marines, Lucky Ofomukoro, during the protest at the Pigging Manifold of OML 30 operated by the joint venture partners, NPDC, Heritage, and Shoreline, said that the aggrieved workers had started the protests at the Manifold last Wednesday.