Implications of Covid-19 Pandemic and Plunge in Global  Oil Prices for Labour and the Nigerian Economy

O. C. Chidi; D. A.  Ideh; A. E.  Badejo

O. C. Chidi Department of Employment Relations & Human Resource Management, Faculty of Management Sciences, University of Lagos.
D. A. Ideh Department of Employment Relations & Human Resource Management, Faculty of Management Sciences, University of Lagos.
A. E. Badejo Department of Employment Relations & Human Resource Management, Faculty of Management Sciences, University of Lagos.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, global oil prices, Labour, Nigerian economy

Abstract

The study investigated the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and the plunge in
global oil prices for labour and the Nigerian economy. The historical research method
was adopted in evaluating secondary data derived from OPEC’s Annual Statistical
Bulletin (2019) and Monthly Oil Market Report for May 2020, as well as the Central
Bank of Nigeria’s Annual Statistical Bulletin and the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation Annual Statistical Bulletin. Nigeria, Africa’s largest exporter of crude oil,
depends on crude oil earnings to meet its fiscal obligations. With the plunge in global oil
prices, therefore, it is expected that labour and the Nigerian economy will be negatively
impacted. It is hoped that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of
Nigeria (PENGASSAN)—an affiliate of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUCN)—
and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG)—an affiliate
of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)—together with organised labour, will continue to
defend the rights of workers in Nigeria following the plunge in global oil prices. It is
recommended that the government should diversify the economy by promoting growth in
non-oil sectors such as agriculture and solid minerals in the bid to tackle massive
unemployment. There should also be domestication of refining capacity through the
building of modern refineries to satisfy local consumption while avoiding revenue loss
due to refining abroad and boosting local oil revenue, given the large market in Nigeria
and the West African Sub-region. It is concluded that only such measures will help the
country to survive in the post-COVID-19 world economy.