Chevron Is Running An “Apartheid” Employment Policy In N/Delta, IYC Alleges

Chevron Nigeria Limited have been accused of running what has been described as “apartheid employment policy” against host communities in the Niger Delta region, BigPen Online can report.

This is coming following the alleged deliberate refusal of Chevron to engaged the mainly host communities products of its Vocational Training Programme (VTP 5 and 6) participants six years after they were trained, whereas their counterparts from non host communities were gainfully employed.

Addressing a press conference in Warri, Delta state on the development on Tuesday, President of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Barr. Eric Omare who made the allegations, said that Chevron had adopted two set of employment policy for their workers in operations in the Niger Delta region.

According to him, there is one policy for host communities and another for those from outside the host communities and family members of top management staff of Chevron.

He warned that the development may force youths in the region to resort to violence with the discriminatory employment policy of Chevron to the people of the region.

The IYC leader therefore call on the federal and state governments of Delta, Bayelsa and Ondo states to prevail on the oil multinational to desist from using discriminatory employment policy against host communities.

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Omare said that the unfavourable tactics adopted by Chevron to exclude suitable Ijaw Itsekiri and Ilaje youths from being gainfully employed in the company is already causing tension in the company’s operational areas and may lead to disruption of oil and gas operations if urgent steps are not taken to address the issue.

“Those from host communities are employed as technicians, whereas those from outside the host communities are employed as engineers.

“Only last year, an aptitude test was done for those from outside the host communities in Abuja, where several engineers were employed, but host communities were left out.

“The implication of this discriminatory employment policy is that though the community technicians are the ones doing the actual works on the field with requisite qualification, they cannot grow or be promoted on the employment to the level of the engineers employed from outside the host communities.

“The IYC, therefore, calls on the Delta, Ondo, Bayelsa states and the federal governments to act now before it is too late. Chevron should be directed to, as a matter of urgency, employ all the Ijaw, Itsekiri and Ilaje community indigenes who went through the Chevron VTP 5 and 6 without delay”, he said.

Chevron’s General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, (PGPA), Esimaje Brikinn, didn’t respond to calls or text message sent across to his mobile phone.

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Meanwhile, an earlier response to a similar community agitation against Chevron last December indicated that the company did not give the Vocational Training Programme (VTP) to host community indigenes with a promise of employment after training, adding that its employment policy was guided by human capacity needs.

Chevron’s Sola Adebawo, who issued a statement on behalf of the General Manager PGPA, had said it only provided the trainings as part of its corporate social responsibility to host communities, adding that it was meant to prepare them to be suitable for any opening in the oil and gas industry, but not meant to be an automatic employment criteria into CNL.

“Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) is an equal opportunities employer and does not discriminate against anyone based on race, gender, religion, color, age, ethnicity, disability or any other basis. Employment into the company is dependent on organizational needs and business requirements.

“CNL’s effort to sponsor trainees for the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Vocational Training Programme (VTP) was a corporate social responsibility initiative intended to help build the skills and capacity of the participants from the local communities, to be capable of delivering world-class O&M performance in the oil and gas industry.

“With the skills acquired from the programme, several of the participants have been able to get employment within the oil and gas industry. CNL did not represent or guarantee that it would hire the trainees at the time of graduation from the programme.

“CNL will continue to encourage as many people from the communities around the areas of our operation, who are qualified for employment, to apply to the Company whenever there are vacancies. Unfortunately, these opportunities do not exist right now”, the company said.

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