Comrade Sunday Avoseh has been elected as President, Seamen/NIWA Water Transport Workers Branch of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN).
Avoseh, a former District Chairman in Lagos is to run the affairs of the branch for four years.
He took over from Comrade Francis Bunu, who has been elected as Deputy President General of the union.
Speaking shortly after his swearing in ceremony at the end of the 5th Quadrennial Delegates Conference held in Lagos, the newly elected President, expressed dissatisfaction over lack of proper regulations on manning agents by the designated authorities in Nigeria.
According the him, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency has failed to provide a comprehensive database of authentic manning agents in country, a situation he called on the authority to finding lasting solution to the compilation of registered recruitment organisations for seafarers.
Avoseh called on the regulatory agency also to look inward towards reducing the cost of discharge books for seafarers.
Comrade Avoseh stressed the need for NIMASA inspectors to ensure that the Collective Bargaining Agreement should confirm with Maritime Labour Convention MLC 2006, while onboard ships in line with the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC(
He assured that the union would collaborate with NIMASA and ship owners as part of efforts to ensure that the tripartite agreement achieve its purposes.
According to him, the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN),Oron in Akwa Ibom state should be upgraded to compete favourably with foreign training institutions .
Speaking further on training of seamen in the country, he pointed out that private maritime institutions should be given all necessary support for training of seafarers pointing out that MAN Oron cannot be the only training institution of seafarers in the country.
“NIMASA needs to invest more in MAN Oron and take that school to the level where the certificate will be accepted anywhere in the world.
“And like we use to say in other fora, if NIMASA should improve the standard of MAN Oron, any country that will not accept the certificate of Nigerian seafarers through bilateral relationship we also should not accept their certification.
“It is also very urgent for NIMASA to do something about the wastage of foreign currency by seafarers going overseas to obtain certificate because their is nothing they are going to get outside those countries that we cannot be able to give them in Nigeria , thus these things NIMASA needs to give priority”,the newly elected President affirmed.
By Roland Ekama
