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FG moves to stop Maritime workers strike

By on December 20, 2014

Maritime Workers of Nigeria (MWUN) Wednesday shut the nation’s ports operations nationwide in protest against federal government refusal to resolve lingering industrial dispute in the sector.

It was gathered that as early as 7 am, workers were withdrawn from their duty posts across port formations in Lagos, Warri, and Port Harcourt thereby crippling operations at the ports.

However, in desperate efforts to ensure that the industrial action did not last beyond Wednesday, the management of the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) engaged the leaders of MWUN and NPA Senior Staff Association, counterpart, in a marathon meeting to end the industrial action.

Both the Presidents of Dockworkers and NPA branch of MWUN, Mr. Adewale Adeyanju and Adeleke Sanni, respectively, addressed the workers at both Apapa and Tin Can Ports.

At the end of the meeting, Sanni assured that normal services would resume before the end of the week adding that the union would meet to suspend the industrial action.

According to him, the management of NPA led by the Executive Director Finance and Administration, Mr. Olumide Oduntan had pleaded that the issues would be addressed urgently blaming the problems on documentation.

“On the NPA staff welfare, he equally pleaded that for the union to give the management up to the first quarters of next year because of the austerity measure declared by the government due to the falling prices of crude in the international market,” Sanni said.

The union had directed members to embark on an indefinite over unpaid wages and other labour issues affecting the Tally Clerks/On-board Security, minimum standard for Dockworkers and the welfare of employees with the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA).

The industrial action follows the failure by government agencies in the sector to prevail on the union in the sector to suspend its planned strike.

Ahead of the commencement of the strike, the union had, weekend, notified Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and private terminal operators of the looming shut-down of all ports’ formations nationwide.

It was gathered that despite several ultimatums and agreements, the government had concluded plans to do away with the tally clerks/on-board security despite their importance to port operations and national security.

According to the union, the latest ultimatum to government to address the issues of the tally clerk/on-board security, among other pending issues, expired yesterday, (Tuesday, December 16) and had decided to put operators on notice so that they would not be caught unawares.

An officer of the union confirmed that the strike would commence Wednesday after the President-General and some other leaders of the union would have come back from a foreign trip.

In a letter to NPA by the union dated December 12 and signed by Mr. Edwin Sambo, Deputy Secretary General (Admin), entitled, “Notice to shut down the seaports,” the union wrote: “Please be informed that the Union will be forced to close down the nation’s seaports if the under- listed issues which are affecting our members are not addressed before Monday, December 15, 2014 – Tally Clerks/On-board Security, minimum standard for Dockworkers and NPA staff welfare matters.”

 

[ThisDay]