Nigerian oil union puts strike on hold after deal

LAGOS, March 31 (Reuters) - Nigeria's senior oil workers' union has withdrawn its industry-wide strike threat after a deal with the local unit of ExxonMobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) over a labour dispute, union leaders said on Monday

The union had accused Exxon on Friday of reneging on a series of agreements in the dispute over the sacking of about 100 Nigerian workers by the energy giant and said it may decide at a meeting on Tuesday to launch a crippling strike.

"We have postponed the meeting indefinitely because we have received a positive response from Mobil which has agreed to recall the sacked workers," PENGASSAN deputy secretary general Lumumba Okugbawa said.

The union, which had also accused the company of frustrating negotiations to resolve the dispute, said Exxon agreed at talks with high-level government officials to withdraw legal processes pending at an industrial court.

The union had deferred the strike on at least two previous occasions, only to renew the threat when talks stalled, saying it would target the upstream and downstream sectors of Nigeria's oil and gas industry.

Strikes by PENGASSAN and the junior oil workers' union NUPENG had in the past affected only a limited portion of oil loadings from the world's eighth-biggest exporter, but in recent years the unions have failed to shut down the entire sector.

Industrial action has tended to gather strength slowly and disputes are usually resolved within a few days.

Energy multinationals producing Nigeria's over two million barrels of oil per day have usually managed to maintain skeletal staff levels at their facilities during recent strikes, allowing them to limit the impact on output.

(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: africa.reuters.com/ ) (Writing by Tume Ahemba)