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Nigeria Unions Threaten to Strike Over Chevron Contract Dispute

Nigeria Unions Threaten to Strike Over Chevron Contract Dispute

(Bloomberg) -- Nigeria’s oil unions say they are ready to call a nationwide strike to protest a decision by U.S. oil giant Chevron Corp. to close out thousands of employment contracts at the end of the month.

"We have already placed our members on red alert should the management of Chevron remain adamant to rescind its anti-labor decision,” the leaders of two unions representing blue-collar and managerial-level workers said in a joint statement on Saturday. Chevron’s decision is harmful to both the workers in the sector and Nigeria’s economy, they said.

Chevron plans to close current job contracts and replace them with new ones in November. The unions say the move is in violation of existing contracts and are appealing to the government to have the contracts rolled over instead.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tope Alake in Lagos at talake@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sophie Mongalvy at smongalvy@bloomberg.net, Natasha Doff, Jon Menon

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