The Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, (NUPENG), has threatened to withdraw its services if the installation of a safety valve is not made mandatory in petroleum trucks with effect from May 1.
The unions Chairman, Akanni Oladiti, stated this in a statement the branch issued yesterday, following its executive meeting held at the weekend in Ibadan, Oyo State. Hesaid that the decision was because the union members were usually the first casualties in any situation of fire accidents involving petroleum trucks.
According to him, the safety valves, if installed, will go a long way in reducing the rate of fire accidents involving petroleum trucks and therefore save precious lives and property.
He said also that the union issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Nigeria Association of Road Transport Owners, (NARTO), to negotiate the renewal of the Collective Bargaining Agreement for new working conditions for tanker drivers.
He added that the expiring CBA had been in operation for the past six years even though the country had been experiencing a spiral inflationary trend that was further complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
