Workers of NLNG Train 7 Demonstrate Against Unlawful Tax Deductions

Workers on the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Train 7 project have protested about illegal tax deductions in Bonny, Bonny Local Government Area, Rivers State.

According to reports, fitters and welders started the protest, which was organized by Daewoo Contractors employees, and then it extended to junior employees.

Each employee has been required to pay approximately N150,000 per month for tax clearance throughout the previous two years, according to the data.

However, the irate employees claim that NLNG has not provided them with their Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) in spite of the deductions they have made over the last two years.

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Then they said that an audit found irregularities that showed the taxes were never sent to the federal government even though they were deducted each month.

Consequently, the employees are requesting that their TINs be released and that the money that has been withheld for the past two years be returned.

When repeated pleas for clarity were not answered, one of the workers who was protesting—a pipe welder—spoke on condition of anonymity to clarify that the demonstration started on Monday.

The conclusions reached during such discussions have not been put into effect, he continued, despite the company’s request that workers designate representatives for dialogue.

Furthermore, a protester accused their union of compromising the issue, claiming that union executives had known about it for two years but had kept quiet because they were profiting from the “illegal taxation.”

More information will be available soon.