Mrs Elo Victor-Ogbondah, a Former staff of Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited whose appointment was unduly terminated in 2017 for emerging as an executive of PENGASSAN against the request of the company to step down for a man is seeking for justice.
Despite the intervention of the Federal Ministry of Labour after a long negotiation between the association and the company, where it was established that the termination was wrongful and taking consideration of the company’s appeal in the conciliation & mediation process, gave a figure, distance from the association’s initial request to be paid to her for wrongfully terminating and destroying my career.
They adopted a template that was proposed by the association already in existence in the company and which was confirmed by the company’s representative to have been used to settle a former male member of staff.
Though they threw more light alleging, the length of service as their handicap in adopting same template for her, the ministry granted their request and further reduced the amount.
It is more than a year now, Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited has reneged on this, throwing her into a lot of distress.
Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited has refused to pay her this appropriate benefit for this wrongful termination.
she has made attempts to report this to other government agencies, but each time Total uses their corporate power and their claimed connection with government to arm twist it.
Nigeria can remember that in 2014, the bid to frustrate her from assuming the position caused massive fallout between the company and the Association, PENGASSAN, thus in November 2014, the Association called a nationwide strike.
Owing to the strike action, President Good luck Jonathan, waded into the issue and mandated the relevant government officials, ministers and heads of parastatals to take steps to settle the issue.
Please fellow Nigerians be aware that this was not a case of refusal of transfer, but the company transferred her without discussing with her or following the required process and procedure in the company’s policy.
This transfer letter was given to her, two days after she was supposed to resume,…. how sad for a mother and a married woman.
However this showed clearly the desperate effort to victimise and prevent her from taking up the position.
Recall that in 2014, this case was investigated by the DSS, who also made a formal press statement about it to Nigerians.
A reconciliatory meeting was held December 18, 2014, where the Minister of Labour, the representative of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, the representatives of NNPC, Total E & P Limited and PENGASSAN were in attendance and signed an Agreement/Memorandum of Understanding.
In the said Agreement/MOU, the company’s proposal was adopted which was to give her a three-year leave of absence to enable her take up the responsibilities.
Total Nigeria E & P also pledged in the said agreement to reabsorb her in the company at the expiration of this three-year tenure as a national executive of PENGASSAN.
In the letter granting leave of absence to her, Total was in denial of their own leave of absence policy; they rather stated clearly that the said leave of absence is a special one and not strictly hinged on the company’s policy, thereby paid to her only her basic salary, against the company policy that allows me to be fully paid all through the period of leave of absence.
The company did this act as punitive measure for 2014, claiming that their MD was embarrassed by DSS during the 2014 investigation and that the ego of the company was hurt.
In 2016 they wrote her another letter instructing her on a date to resume, which she acknowledged.
A month before the resumption date given to her, the company terminated her appointment stating that she did not obey, the policy, quoting the same policy and procedure that they claimed that they were not using.
Total has been delaying this payment in every way possible, they want to deny her this justice, despite being aware of her deteriorating health condition.
Total stopped paying her medical bills since 2014 despite the reconciliatory meeting and agreement. She has been borrowing money to cater for her health.
They have confidence in their connections in this present government, consistently mocking, that she will become history before getting justice.
she has been punished a lot already and we have to say enough.
Total Nigeria stopped paying her medical bills since 2014 . She has been borrowing money to cater for her health and that of her family.
The company’s Director has threatened that She cannot get justice as they are in control of the three arms of government, including the press.
An injustice to one, it’s an injustice to all, no Nigerian should be made to go through this kind of treatment on account of her gender.
Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited should pay whatever that is due to Mrs. Elo.
What Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited is doing to Mrs. Elo is what so many foreign companies and expatriates are doing to our compatriots. Posterity will not forgive us if we allow these companies to demean our people and subject them to slaves in their own land.
