Oil marketers have commenced a reduction of their workforce due to the delay by the Federal Government to pay them their N650 billion, a development that has made it impossible for them to pay staff salaries. According to NAN, some of the marketers, who preferred anonymity, confirmed on Wednesday in Lagos that they resorted to adopt a massive sack of their workers as the Federal Government had yet to pay an outstanding debts owed them.
They said they did not have any other option to control their increasing debt burden of borrowing to pay salaries than to embark on staff disengagement. They further lamented that majority of marketers are indebted to banks because for funds they borrowed to pay workers’ salaries.
“Retrenchment became necessary as some marketers have already closed their depots, while others have also reduced workers’ salaries by 75 per cent due to their inability to sustain the payments. It is a difficult time for the oil marketers because we are currently facing the headwinds in the oil market.
“Some of our members are finding it difficult to pay salaries and other overhead costs,’’ one of the marketers told NAN.
The aggrieved oil marketers urged the federal government to expedite action on the payment of outstanding debts owed to marketers, in order to help them to sustain their businesses.
Meanwhile, another source was quoted as saying “...In the light of the above and after exhausting all formal avenues to secure payment of these debts, we have notified the federal government of the likelihood of disengaging our personnel.
“We are told that President Muhammadu Buhari has signed for the payment of the debt but it is yet to get to the National Assembly for their consent. We hope this will be addressed to salvage the situation’’.
