Some former contract workers from Egi communities in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State have threatened to disrupt operations at OML-58, accusing TotalEnergies of unfairly disengaging them from service.

The affected individuals, who identified themselves as members of the Egi Indigenous Contract Staff/Service Workers, said 47 indigenous workers were dismissed in 2014 after they demanded to be converted from contract staff to permanent employees with improved welfare.

In a petition addressed to the company’s headquarters in Paris and backed by the Niger Delta Widows Prayer Forum, the group alleged that their disengagement was discriminatory and followed their request for better employment conditions.

They claimed that the decision had left many families in hardship, noting that several of the disengaged workers, once primary providers for their households, now survive on menial jobs and commercial motorcycle riding. Widows among them were said to be facing severe economic challenges and relying on relatives for survival.

The petitioners questioned why similar labour-related actions by other categories of workers within the company did not attract the same penalty, insisting that their case was treated differently.

They gave the company seven working days to address their demands, warning that failure to respond could lead to mass protests and a shutdown of operations in the area. According to them, women’s groups from across the Niger Delta and other regions would be mobilised to support the action.

Attempts to reach the company’s Stakeholder Engagement Manager, Henry Ehuike, for comment were unsuccessful as calls and messages sent to him were not returned as of the time this report was filed.