MWUN Decries IoCs Disobedience To Govt Marine Notices, Extant Stevedoring Regulations

By Anthony Okechukwu

The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) under the leadership of Comrade Adewale Adeyanju has condemned  the issue of International Oil Company (IoCs) continuous refusal to obey Government Marine Notice 106 of 2014 and Extant Stevedoring Regulations. 

The union expressed surprise at the rate multinational oil companies (IoC’s) operating in Nigeria have continued to exhibit flagrant disrespect and disobedience to Government Marine Notices and Extant Stevedoring Regulations.

This is just as the union kicked against the refusal to pay Aged Seafarers Monthly Pension, describing it as a matter that has been so protracted and ought to have been disposed off

MWUN made the observations while presenting the challenges  facing the Union in the maritime sector to the newly appointed Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola 

Pointing out  the numerous challenges the Union has been facing over time before the recent appointment of Oyetola, MWUN in a statement issued Wednesday, signed by Head of Media, MWUN, Comrade John Kennedy Ikemefuna, stated that Union has not only been the vanguard in the campaign for enhanced welfare packages and decent work environment but also for workers in the maritime sector and also at the forefront of championing workers rights to equity, fairness and justice.

According to the union, in 2014, the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) in its bid to regulate the activities of the Stakeholders in the maritime sector issued the Government Marine Notice 106. 

It however, stated that since the Marine Notice was issued in 2014 most of the IoC’s have continued to refuse the Stevedores access to their platforms and to do their legitimate business of Stevedoring Activities; thereby shutting out the Dockworkers’ from the opportunity to work and earn a living.

Although, in the face of the arrogance being perpetuated, in spite of the several warning notices given by the Union, and the several interventions of Nigerian Ports Authority and Ultimatums issued to the IoC’s, MWUN pointed out that such moves have not yielded any positive result, except for few amongst them who have complied so far. 

“It’s therefore worthy of note as on record the IoC’s continued denial of our members (Dockworkers) the opportunity to work and earn a meaningful living is an invitation to crisis which the fledgling economy can ill afford. There’s also the question of using the NJIC  standard as template of payment to both the Dockers, Seafarers which we insist that all the employers of the sector must use in payment but update, it has not been applied in the shipping sector of the industry. We as a Union in this appeal is asking the new Minister to ask the erring employers to comply.

On the refusal to pay Aged Seafarers Monthly Pension, MWUN said “This matter has been so protracted and ought to have been disposed off. It’s on record that some Seafarers were exited from service in 1985. In 1995, there was another batch of Seafarers who were relieved following the liquidation of the Nigeria National Shipping Line (NNSL) and for more than a decade, the disengaged Seafarers were not paid terminal benefits, gratuity, and pension. However, the retirees were compelled to approach the National Industrial Court (NIC) in 1991 and on March 15, 2001 praying the court to direct NIMASA, the agency responsible for the welfare of Seafarers to pay their gratuity and pension”.

Other challenges listed for the Minister as some of their key challenges include: the Onboard Ship Gangway Security and Tally Men – ( Pooling System; urgent need to dredge Calabar, Warri and PortHarcourt Ports; completion of issuance of biometric identify cards to Dockworkers and Seafarers identity documents (SID) to Seafarers; need to employ junior cadre employees in Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), NIWA & NIMASA; allow presence of the officials of Nigerian Ports Authority and NIMASA in most of the Jetties in the country and also the urgent need for a national carrier vessels.

It further stated that these challenges confronting the Union cannot be concluded if the dilapidated Ports Access roads and the Quay Apron are not mentioned, adding that “It’s a common knowledge that the Ports access roads have become impassible and have all become death traps to road users. The bad state of the roads had created the most unwarranted gridlock, loss of revenue from profits during delivery of services and consignments. We have witnessed series of accidents resulting to loss of lives and property: so it is with the dilapidated Quay Aprons of Calabar, Warri, Onne, Port Harcourt. No doubt, Lagos had been in a deplorable state and have since remained a disaster waiting to happen. And for the deplorable roads, Onne and PortHarcourt should be seriously looked into as this very bad condition of the roads does not project the image of Nigeria in good light in the comity of Maritime Nations.

” Hence, the Union wants to implore the good office of the new Minister of Marine & Blue Economy to return sanity to these dilapidated monuments and also to bring all erring administrators, stakeholders, and employers of labour in the maritime sector to comply with all the rules and regulations as stipulated in the books so that in harmony we can effectively and efficiently place the industry amongst its counterpart across the world. Comrade Adeyanju, the Deputy President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is personally making a very clear and objective submission to the Minister not to allow the newly constituted National Assembly to exhume the obnoxious “Harbour Bill” which had been laid to rest in the past, as this again for the second time, will unsettle the smooth running of the newly created ministry of Marine & Blue Economy and the nation at large. The Senate should restrict themselves to policies that will bring better living conditions to Nigerians, rather than coming up with negative and controversial policies capable of grinding the nation to a halt”.