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By Steve Agbota
After the intervention of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has suspended the picketing of APM Terminals, Apapa over anti-labour practice.
After a meeting with the Executive Secretary of NSC, Barr Hassan Bello yesterday in his office, the President General of MWUN, Com. Adewale Adeyanju warned other multinational companies in the maritime sector to desist from bringing in expatriates from Benin Republic, Ghana and other West African countries to takeover jobs meant for Nigerians.
Adeyanju said the union suspended the picketing against APM Terminals, Apapa saying for over 16 years, the MWUN had never shut down or issued any ultimatum on the terminal.
He, however, said the present management of APM Terminals does not have regards for the dockworkers and terminal workers that are working for them.
He said: “What the management is trying to do now is to bring in people from Cotonou and Ghana to come and take over the jobs Nigerians have been trained for. The terminal workers in APMT are the best workers anyone can think of and what they are doing now is to bring in Beninoise to take over the jobs all in the name of expatriates.
“We said no; if this company can collapse a department, they might equally extended it to other departments having it in mind to replace all Nigerians with foreigners. The worst thing they did was to bring in an accountant from Ghana to become director of finance at the company. Are they saying we do not have qualified accountant in Nigeria?”
However, he called on the Nigerian government to look inwards by beaming it searchlight on foreigners and their work permit expiration date, noting that the Nigerian Immigration Service and other agencies on foreign affairs should work round the clock to put the expatriates in check.
