LAGOS (AFP) - Nigerian unions clashed in court with the oil giant Shell as the labour movement flexed its muscles ahead of a nationwide general strike, which its leaders have warned will disrupt key oil exports.
The Nigeria Labour Congress and a coalition of civil society bodies have called on workers to launch an indefinite stoppage from November 16 in protest against rising fuel prices and President Olusegun Obasanjo's economic reforms.
Campaigning is due to get off to a rowdy start on Wednesday when the strike coalition is to stage a street rally in Lagos which will be followed by similar protests around the country, said NLC mobilisation officer Denja Yacqub.
But first, union leaders went to court to see off a separate challenge from Shell, the country's biggest oil company, which was seeking an injunction to prevent its workers going on strike to oppose imminent job losses.
Shell's approach to the Federal High Court in Lagos was an attempt to add legal weight to its bid to force through an unpopular restructuring plan which is expected to lead to large-scale job losses in its Nigerian subsidiary.
But the timing of its move was unfortunate, as its own battle with the unions became drawn into the national struggle and labour leaders descended on the court house to denounce the firm's alleged strong-arm tactics.
"Shell does not have the muscle to control our people, even if it controls our political leaders," stormed NLC president Adams Oshiomhole, who on Sunday had dubbed the Anglo-Dutch major an "enemy of the Nigerian people."
"If you really want the government to listen to you then the oil sector must be carried along in your struggle," he urged workers. Oil revenues account for 95 percent of Nigeria's foreign earnings.
In court, Shell's lawyers argued that staff belonging to the two main oil unions NUPENG and PENGASSAN had signed contracts pledging not to strike until all avenues of discussion with management had been used up.
In a statement released here, Shell said their case had no relation to the planned general strike but instead followed a warning from unions that they might walk out at any time without prior notice to protest the job cuts.
The court adjourned the hearing until November 18.
But PENGASSAN president Brown Ogbeifun said that although his members would wait until after the next court date before deciding whether to strike against Shell's restructuring, they would nevertheless join the general strike.
"Of course we are going to join the strike, definitely," he told AFP.
Shell, which last week announced a 70 percent increase in worldwide third quarter profits, produces oil in Nigeria for around two dollars a barrel.
Nigeria's signature sweet light crude was trading on Monday at 49.40 dollars per barrel after better than expected Iraqi oil production figures and confusion over the Nigerian unions' position.
Despite the jump in profits, the firm has begun a rationalisation to further cut costs and job losses are expected.
Labour has demanded that Obasanjo reintroduce subsidies and a price cap in order to cut the pump price of petrol and diesel back to its level on September 23, when it jumped by 25 percent to 55 naira (about 40 cents).
But government insists that fuel deregulation is a key plank of its reform programme and has refused to do more than soften the impact of the price hike by cutting tax on public transport and offering cheap loans to road hauliers.
The unions brought Nigeria to a halt between October 11 and 14 in what they called a "warning strike" in protest at the price increase. Now, they warn that the next protest will go on until the government backs down.
With exports of around 2.5 million barrels per day, Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer and the sixth biggest in the world.
Although Nigeria earns billions of dollars every year from exporting crude oil, its domestic refineries have been laid waste by corruption and mismanagement and it relies on expensive imports of refined fuels.
Traditionally, governments have subsidised retail sales of petrol, diesel and kerosene to their 130-million-strong population, more than three-quarters of whom live in abject poverty on less than one dollar per day.
11/01/2004 - 18:12 GMT - AFP