InvertedHammer:

/
You still don't get it. Do you?

Baker Hughes is a corporation with subsidiaries scattered all over oil producing nations. Their annual financial statement is for the whole. Baker Hughes Nigeria may be the only profitable one since last year but that will be used to offset the losses in others. Layoffs will not spare the workers in Nigeria even though they lay the golden eggs. The salary and benefits structure are signed off by headquarters. Workers in Nigeria may get annual bonus, if necessary but in dire economic situation like this, Bakers will not pay out. The money that you mentioned stranded in Nigeria banks is being prepared to be wired/repatriated back to the bosses in Texas. Bakers Hughes Nigeria will only get part of the fund for their operating costs.

There are many ways of making money in oil. Sorry to tell you but the enginners and workers in the field are getting peanuts and that's why they are where they are today. An average oil related engineer that makes $3000 equivalent in a month in Nigeria believes that he is banking.

You may work for BHN but you don't seem to know or understand anything about the corporation other than doing your job and getting paid at the end of every month.

\

The money in Nigerian banks are not supposed to be wired back to the foreign bosses. That is Nigerian law. The foreign bosses have taken their 60 percent. The remaining money should be used to take care of the Nigerian part. Only the Nigerian leadership can decide how it's spent. Unfortunately they will rather declare it as profit and smuggle it abroad so that they can get promoted but it's illegal

jayrager:


Hi Bro.. Well said!! Are you saying people shouldn't think of having a career in oil and gas anymore? How stable do you think the industry will be in another year?

Well, that would be my unbias advice. No gainsaying that the oil industry is cyclical in nature. A period of high oil prices is followed by a period of low oil prices, and the cycle continues like that. However, I don't see the oil price bouncing back because once there's a slight increase, the shale oil producers will get excited again and saturate the global economy with oil. The oversupply will cause the oil price to crash again then they run out of business. Once the oil price starts picking up due to undersupply or high demand, they come back. So, this period of oil bust is different from the several oil bust we've had.
Yes, I'll not advise anyone to consider a career in the oil and gas industry at the undergraduate level. it's okay at the masters level.

Belarium:


The money in Nigerian banks are not supposed to be wired back to the foreign bosses. That is Nigerian law. The foreign bosses have taken their 60 percent. The remaining money should be used to take care of the Nigerian part. Only the Nigerian leadership can decide how it's spent. Unfortunately they will rather declare it as profit and smuggle it abroad so that they can get promoted but it's illegal

/
Thinking about Nigeria will give migraine to any rational being. I have always proposed that the minute anyone gets a good paying job in Nigeria, they should dedicate at least the first year salary in setting up alternative source of income.
Laws in Nigeria are easily broken by foreigners. As a matter of fact, it is the law gatekeepers that encourage them to break the laws after they get some kickbacks.
\

Belarium:


You are the one not getting it at all. Countries that are running at losses are paid much better than Nigeria who is providing the money. And no, the salaries and bonuses are not signed off at the head quarters . They are decided locally . Even if it's it an international corporation, the Nigerian leadership has a lot control on how the staff are treated and not the headquarters. You are trying to sound smart but unfortunately you keep going off point. I will leave you at this as you have no single idea of what you are taking about.

/
You know what you are talking about? If you got it figured out, why are you people picketing and protesting? It is called denial. Salaries and benefits are decided locally but MUST be signed off by the headquarters. If someone in New York gets paid $10k/month, do you expect them to pay same amount to someone in Nigeria? The benefits are decided locally to cut costs. That's all.

The reasons you enumerated for the protests are based on fantasy. The company pays you what they think you are worth. Why do you think the people that do the heavy lifting are the ones that get paid the least?

The funny thing is that you folks chose the wrong time to protest. Some of you need to be laid off if not for anything else for being stu.pid. Ranting on nairaland will not solve the problem. What does the Labour law say? Why is the law being abused? What are the repercussions? What is the solution? These are what you people should have analyzed before embarking on senseless protest. If BH puts out a memo that "no work no pay", all of you will quietly walk back into the so-called slave ship.

If I were you, I will find way to tap into the oil industry without being an employee. Otherwise, your fate will be same in many years to come. Don't forget that you are an employee, you are just a number. You are very expendable!
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InvertedHammer:

/
You know what you are talking about? If you got it figured out, why are you people picketing and protesting? It is called denial. Salaries and benefits are decided locally but MUST be signed off by the headquarters. If someone in New York gets paid $10k/month, do you expect them to pay same amount to someone in Nigeria? The benefits are decided locally to cut costs. That's all.

The reasons you enumerated for the protests are based on fantasy. The company pays you what they think you are worth. Why do you think the people that do the heavy lifting are the ones that get paid the least?

The funny thing is that you folks chose the wrong time to protest. Some of you need to be laid off if not for anything else for being stu.pid. Ranting on nairaland will not solve the problem. What does the Labour law say? Why is the law being abused? What are the repercussions? What is the solution? These are what you people should have analyzed before embarking on senseless protest. If BH puts out a memo that "no work no pay", all of you will quietly walk back into the so-called slave ship.

If I were you, I will find way to tap into the oil industry without being an employee. Otherwise, your fate will be same in many years to come. Don't forget that you are an employee, you are just a number. You are very expendable!
\

I will still try to explain for the benefit of people reading.

We are comparing our salaries and benefits to people in Congo, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea. These people are being serviced by Nigerian made money. These countries are also being run mainly by our Naija ppl. But their government policies are stronger and BHI will not date mess up there. But they can mess up in Naija and get away with it because of course we love bribery. And that is what has been happening. Some Nigerian ppl in leadership positions have been bribing the people who should stop this rubbish. Bribed and ended the first union.


As for no work no pay directives, go to BHI yourself and find out, they have already done that last week. The union locked up the port harcourt offices for one whole week. Nobody can enter or go out. The company had to retract the no work no pay email threats they sent out

The people who work here have suffered for over 12 years and it's high time the music changed.

Belarium:
Facts about Baker Hughes Nigeria

1. This company had a union many years ago. This union ensured that staff were well payed and taken care of but this union was destroyed by Mr Tayo who was the MD and current global Vice President in Baker Hughes. He destroyed it by bribing the zunion officials. The union officials turned back and betrayed the staff and accepted the current wicked contract on their behalf. If you don't accept it, you are sacked. The company rewarded Tayo by promoting him and posting him abroad.


2. nigeria is one of the country that makes the highest profit margin for Baker Hughes yet her staff are paid the worst compared to all Baker hughes offices worldwide.

3. When their People are laid off in Congo and other african countries , Baker Hughes gives them the following; 9 months minimum salary, 3 Morgan salary per year worked and one year health insurance. The staff are the ones that gives the company notice that they want to be laid off Or the company will give them at least one month notice. In Nigeria, no notice is given . Instead bouncers and security men wil just appear I your office and bundle you out. Also they only pay them 2 weeks per year. Imagine working for 8 years and going home with 500thousand.


4. This company is not allowed to take out more than 60percent of her income according to Nigerian Law. The 40percenr should be invested I Nigerians But they keep smuggling this money out. Efcc take note

You Sir have a good overview of this issue but let me add some more points to this.

I don't feel for these folks. This issue resulted from the greed of the supervisors and managers back in circa 2005. They were deceived into selling out and abandoning the union when they were offered juicy 'professional contracts'. They took the money then, took payoffs to leave the union then thus weakening the strength of the union. Ironically some of these folks are part of those now protesting and trying to recreate the union. Talk about eating your cake and having it.

Halliburton staff never fell for that gimmick and have their union intact to this day with one of the best redundancy packages in the service industry.

Now back to Baker. There were three key senior managers responsible for destroying the union; Tayo Akinokun who for his 'good deed' went on to become MD of Nigeria, rising up to the President of Africa and now is the VP of the pressure pumping (international) product line. Selling out pays dude! The other two were not so lucky Orugbo (HR manager then) was eventually laid off and I heard took Baker to court. Kenneth Opara took over as HR manager and was one of the most vile persons you could ever deal with. He was Tayo's hatchet man. Hundreds lost their jobs under him and he personally introduced the poor feeding and transportation allowances thry are all complaining about now. He was recently laid off and I hear he is planning to sue Baker for more entitlements. Imagine that!

The moral of the story here is that we Nigerians and greedy. We never recognize an issue until it is going to affect us. These corporations will always move on. You can't be in their good books forever so protect yourselves collectively. I'm not sure how successful this protest will be because knowing these people, there will be sellouts once it benefits them. The company may just figure a way to get to these ones. I hear Baker Nigeria is planning to lay off 150 of their remaining 303 employees. This is why you see all the ruckus now. Because it is now affecting those that were not bothered and probably thought they had a job for life.

I hope they are successful with their protest but sadly, I do not pity them.

Stupidity is part and parcel of every nigerians indeed.
Your people run Ghana.?hahaha
Are you that stupid?
With armed robbery,scamming,prostitution or what.
Even if u had said u guys run OUR PRISONS i wouldve agreed because thats where most of u guys live.
Majority of u idiots are hawking dog chains,phone covers,cds etc on wooden trucks.
Your own country is bn run by the chinese and lebanese so keep on making a fool out of yourself.
Stupid bokoharam terrorist.
Seems the only country u idiots knw is Ghana.

Belarium:


I will still try to explain for the benefit of people reading.

We are comparing our salaries and benefits to people in Congo, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea. These people are being serviced by Nigerian made money. These countries are also being run mainly by our Naija ppl. But their government policies are stronger and BHI will not date mess up there. But they can mess up in Naija and get away with it because of course we love bribery. And that is what has been happening. Some Nigerian ppl in leadership positions have been bribing the people who should stop this rubbish. Bribed and ended the first union.


As for no work no pay directives, go to BHI yourself and find out, they have already done that last week. The union locked up the port harcourt offices for one whole week. Nobody can enter or go out. The company had to retract the no work no pay email threats they sent out

The people who work here have suffered for over 12 years and it's high time the music changed.

O0XYGEN:
Stupidity is part and parcel of every nigerians indeed.
Your people run Ghana.?hahaha
Are you that stupid?
With armed robbery,scamming,prostitutions or what.
Even if u had said u guys run OUR PRISONS i wouldve agreed because thats where most of u guys live.
Majority of u idiots are hawking dog chains,phone covers,cds etc on wooden trucks.
Your own country is bn run by the chinese and lebanese so keep on making a fool out of yourself.
Stupid bokoharam terrorism.
Seems the only country u idiots knw is Ghana.

Was this a response or a rant?

With my experience in this industry, I can't but say we many plus the government have wasted years thinking Oil is solution. We talk oil like we do the largest world's consumption. Just 2 million barrels and it's as consecrated as it is. The truth is, there has been so many redundant positions but the Nigerian people out of mismanagement and mediocrity have made it look like there are jobs to do bringing in their friends, families et all. Other countries are still exploring, drilling tho not what it used to be but not as bad as it is in Nigeria presently. "Nothing is happening in the oil sector". I am not sure there are upto 11 functional rigs. It's bad it got to this. I am not so experienced but I am not sure it used to be like this when it was being managed by the foreigners. Why is it that anything a Nigerian touches must fail at sometime.
Protests won't do anything. What's the outlook for the next 6 months. There are no jobs, no one will keep them if there are no jobs to do. If they are fighting for a better redundancy package, that's fine. It happened at Weatherford, they still have the case in court. We Nigerians are you problem ourselves.

I was part of the MCC construction team that constructed the road the guys in the 3rd pix are standing on. An experience I'll never forget in a while.
Thanks Monier
Thanks FUTO for the Industrial Training.

Belarium:


I will still try to explain for the benefit of people reading.

We are comparing our salaries and benefits to people in Congo, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea. These people are being serviced by Nigerian made money. These countries are also being run mainly by our Naija ppl. But their government policies are stronger and BHI will not date mess up there. But they can mess up in Naija and get away with it because of course we love bribery. And that is what has been happening. Some Nigerian ppl in leadership positions have been bribing the people who should stop this rubbish. Bribed and ended the first union.


As for no work no pay directives, go to BHI yourself and find out, they have already done that last week. The union locked up the port harcourt offices for one whole week. Nobody can enter or go out. The company had to retract the no work no pay email threats they sent out

The people who work here have suffered for over 12 years and it's high time the music changed.

/
We finally agreed on the same thing.
BHI is looking for ways to cut costs and solace came through in Nigeria with the active connivance of the Nigerians in upper management positions.

Your problems are centered on those Nigerians. Black on Black crimes are always the worst and folks wonder why every other race treat Blacks with derision. No matter the organization, black folks are the ones that will readily and easily throw their own under the bus. You have identified the real problems. So find the solutions.
/

pacespot:


I don't care about awkward thinkers like you that dashed you two likes. And by the way, what is my business with oil workers that will now bring envy.

I'm talking of doing the real stuff on the ground in the oil exploration and this one is talking about management-based competence. Enough of these paper competence already. We have enough Professors of Economics in this country who know nothing about nation economy, but the economy of pocket.

Nigerians keep on cramming and pouring in their universities what has worked for other people in their countries, no minding whether it will work for their own country.

How many nigerians in these oil multinationals would Dangote gladly invite to come and do the core engineering work for his refinery. The same people that will do this stuff are the foreign expatriates. Nigerian engineers
can only take the side crew and watch their foreign counterpart do the real stuff.

Complaining of lack of capital, when we recently had a minister of petroleum resources who was a former top-level worker in one of these oil multinationals.

Excuses are the cheapest things in life!!!

Oga, before your anger hit the roof, I'll still politely tell you that you have no idea how the oil exploration business runs.

I understand your wishes, and I will still tell you Nigerians are doing core technical works in oil companies and never you think only the whites are doing that...but may be we are not so many. With the kind of environment you are in, it will still take a lot of decades to make impact in local content but we are not kind of zero as you are thinking. It takes a lot more than technical competence to get a service company running. It's a huge investment and am not sure government have this understanding yet.

In all I strongly don't agree with you that ALL Nigeria oil workers are lackeys of the white men and knew nothing enough to get company started. That is BIG false.

Izontubo:
The truth is our fellow Nigerians who are the top are the ones behind this madness..ensuring that their fellow nigerians are enslaved in Nigeria. ..The nigerian baker Hughes staff should get a hold of the top management staff who are nigerians...I know what I am talking about...

I 100%Concur. blacks are the worst enemy to follow blacks. from Personal work Experience

olaboy1:
UuzbaGuuzba nice write up.
Let me try and answer your questions and observations with my little knowledge.
Oyinbo man na chess player, darky still dey learn draft. Most psychological manipulative books are written by white men like "The Game" and others, hence the need for western women to fight for feminism, linking this back to Naija, if you have lived abroad it's very easy to see that the white man is using the nicety and docility of a black man to his advantage, he understands that blacks really don't understand this chess game yet. He gave us bible to make us obey the Ten Commandments so that when he is doing devilish things to us we are quick to forgive, but trust me I've lived in Europe for so long and the bible has been thrown out of the window for a long time by whites and that's why if you offend oyinbo, they never forgive and forget, it's law of karma here, an eye for an eye. Oyinbo go dey Bleep you up and dey smile with you.
If your whity girl catch you cheating, she go nack all your friends finish before her mind rest. The bible the white man gave us makes us forgive them 70 times 70, I think now it's time for Africans to learn the world game, if we understand and learn it very well, oyinbo go beg last last. Oyinbo no get the kind mind wey we get, na God eye we dey look.

The other thing that worries me is that many of these companies have been operating in Naija for more than 50yrs and still we work there till retirement and don't learn shit from them.
The other part that will not make any approach to these issues work is the greed of an African man. You check am na, person wey be your blood ready dupe you if you send them money to build you a house, that alone tells you this problem go hard to fix. When I was still in Naija as a strong political voice, one of the members of house of assembly came directly to my house to talk to my parents that I should take bribe and stop any oppositions, I did not collect a dime instead I pitched my tent all through with someone that I saw visionary qualities in, but trust Naija after collecting rice and oil, they still voted the corrupt one. Within 4 yrs, someone that graduated in 3 yrs without a job was able able to build 3 massive structure in 4 yrs of politics. The company I was working with before for Naija, had this zero tolerance for fraud campaign, they catch you, they collect your Lappy and the official car, no time for sme sme.

All over Europe there are many Africans with more than one masters degree without professional jobs, most of them driving taxis and cleaning, the annoying part is you see these guys struggling to get a cleaning job that an average uneducated white guy is refusing to take. We really need to wake up and help our next generation.

The problem is even so magnified when black women now need to bleach their skin to be accepted by us brothers, we no try at all. The same skin wey dem wan get na him oyinbo they run away from by tanning it like crazy, the straight hair dem wan get same hair oyinbo they try twist and sometimes change the color to black.

When I enter gym, you go see white guys and even girls all getting so warmed up...like kilode, God bless darky no be small. Also you read here often how Naija guys put down our own girls with stupid hash tag of team foreign, I just dey look una in 3D, who no know no know.
And as for my Naija sistas, please be rest assured many of us blacks are doing underground work to see how we can liberate together as a people, we may not be super rich, but oyinbo money no go mean anything to us very soon.

Try and visit any oil exploration here in Europe, everything is green and sustainable, the nonsense they try in Niger delta, lord Jesus dem for no fit operate here for another 20yrs trust me. But I know if oil falls to 5dollars per barrel, we go survive ba, then why not start by using one oil and gas company as a scape goat, revoke their license and give them 1 month to move their equipment on the ground of health hazard, threat to national public health is a good reason enough to toll that path. Once they leave, we do a public tender for local companies to come on board. We need to start using oyinbo approach to deal with issues, no be by gragra and placard carrying protetss, all na diplomacy and we use law tie their hand. Chai one of my Naija general managers then wash one oyinbo for my front for office...."hey ........., have you come to Nigeria to work or smoke every 5 minutes, if I catch you go out smoking again, then you are on your way back home...the guy sit up sharp sharp.
We need a strong mental shift and understand that WE and WHAT we have are just enough.

Another clueless clown.

InvertedHammer:

/
We finally agreed on the same thing.
BHI is looking for ways to cut costs and solace came through in Nigeria with the active connivance of the Nigerians in upper management positions.

Your problems are centered on those Nigerians. Black on Black crimes are always the worst and folks wonder why every other race treat Blacks with derision. No matter the organization, black folks are the ones that will readily and easily throw their own under the bus. You have identified the real problems. So find the solutions.
/

100% true. blacks can never govern blacks successfully .it always lead to chaos

karleone:
I was part of the MCC construction team that constructed the road the guys in the 3rd pix are standing on. An experience I'll never forget in a while.
Thanks Monier
Thanks FUTO for the Industrial Training.

Aluta!!!

Belarium:


Bros you are quoting Internet, I am talking for raw undoctored knowledge. Leave matter for Mattaias. All other Baker Hughes offices are making a loss. Nigeria is not making a loss. The money baker hughes has in Nigerian banks that they are trying to smuggle out has been stockpiling for years since the oil wind fall. Moreover Baker hughes just collected 3.5 billion dollars from Halliburton as pay off for failed merger. Other baker hughes countries are running at a loss but not Nigeria. Nigeria is their best country in the world.

How is Nigeria different? was the merger b/w Baker hughes Nigeria and Haliburton Nigeria that they will spend the 3billion dollars here in Nigeria?

blueAgent:



How is Nigeria different? was the merger b/w Baker hughes Nigeria and Haliburton Nigeria that they will spend the 3billion dollars here in Nigeria?

Your are quoting out of context. That is in response to his internet quotation of Baker Hughes Global Revenue. He didn't take it into consideration the merger pay which BHI has used to buy back shares and offset loans

Nigerians have to set standards for themselves. This is the first way to do it.

Belarium:


Your are quoting out of context. That is in response to his internet quotation of Baker Hughes Global Revenue. He didn't take it into consideration the merger pay which BHI has used to buy back shares and offset loans

He said Baker Hughes were making money in Nigeria ,despite the drop in oil price and i asked him how.is Nigerian oil industry isolated from the global oil industry?

blueAgent:



Another clueless clown.

Don't worry. FIRST GO ABROAD and see with your eyes. White people look down on us blacks. THEN YOU BLACK, WILL STILL GIVE THEM CHANCE to LOOK DOWN ON YOU AGAIN.

I can relate to EVERTHING olaboy posted above.

UuzbaGuuzba:


Don't worry. FIRST GO ABROAD and see with your eyes. White people look down on us blacks. THEN YOU BLACK, WILL STILL GIVE THEM CHANCE to LOOK DOWN ON YOU AGAIN.

I can relate to EVERTHING olaboy posted above.

Blacks, look, and act in a manner that they are looked down upon.

No blacks don't look and act in a manner they are look down upon. That's fallacy, you sir have bought into stereotypes.
I have white friends who many times have analyzed what the white man is doing, they were not been biased, many revelations.
The white man understands what he is doing, and I tell you once the black man completely figures him out, hell will break loose.
I am not here to argue, I have stated my point and go ahead and fault anything I say and not just throw a blanket statement that I am clueless.
I have friends working on the rig in Norway. Look around you in Nigeria, can you spot the disparity in the job conditions of white expats and their Nigerian counterparts on same job levels. Charity begins at home, we may not have the capacity to build a rig for now because its capital intensive, but we should at least be able to work under appropriate conditions that staff in the parent company of these multinationals enjoy, anything short than that is unacceptable.