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By Steve Agbota
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has ordered the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN) to shut down the nation’s seaports and terminals over long unresolved issues with government agencies and operators in the sector.
The President of the NLC, Comrade Joseph Ajaero gave the order on Friday during his courtesy visit to the union secretariat in Lagos when MWUN explained that the International Oil Companies (IOCs) refused to obey government Marine Notice of 2014 and Extant Stevedoring Regulations and that the government also refused to pay aged seafarers monthly pension inspire of court ruling.
However, Ajaero charged MWUN to write the Ministries of Labour and Transportation and to issue two weeks ultimatum to address various issues and some of the challenges facing maritime
workers in the sector, saying that failure to action will lead to shutting down the whole maritime industry.
He said the government must review maritime workers’ salaries and to also explain who has the responsibility of reviewing port concession agreement.
He added that no one will blame the MWUN for not being patient enough having waited for two years.
“You wrote to the minister of transportation since August 202 and 2022 came and passed and we are approaching August 2023. President if it is going to be possible, give them two weeks ultimatum from today. Because nobody will accuse you of not being patient. Patient for two years running when we do that they will intervene, they will call us. You know the central position of maritime in Nigeria even in Africa, nobody will toil with anything that concerns our workers.
“On this issue alone that labour has been writing since 2021 and this is 2023, I as the NLC President I don’t have any sympathy with anyone that is toiling with the interest of our workers. MWUN President the decision is yours, when you decide, do them a letter and shut the seaports in the country. We are saying it openly for refusing to listen to the union two years after.”
“Let the ministries concerned including the ministry of transportation and labour do their jobs. If they don’t act on this, NLC will join you, we are going to give you a solidarity action. Put the necessary act and the people who are supposed to be act on it,” he added.
Earlier, the President of MWUN, Adeyanju, said: “We will be giving two weeks ultimatum to the Minister of Transportation to come and explain who is regulating terminal operators. And if nothing is done we will be shutting down the ports operations. “Thank you for giving us the ultimatum and I want to confirm here that the ultimatum will start from Monday, March 6, 2023, if the government fails to respond, we will short down the port,” he added.
Adeyanju stated that he was not as gentle as he might seem when it comes to welfare of workers. He maintained that the signature of the national body is what the union has been waiting for to take the long-awaited action.
