AGAIN:MWUN Wants NIMASA To Issue Fresh Bio Metric Cards For Dockers

By Roland Ekama,Lagos

The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN),has again called on management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to issue fresh bio metric identity cards for dockworkers operating in the nation’s seaports.

The Union had expressed worries over the high rate of cargo vandals at the ports ,even as it attributed such act to lack of proper identification of labour workers to be responsible for the heightened insecurity at the facilities.

President General of MWUN , Comrade Adewale Adeyanju who made the appeal recently in Lagos , during a chat with journalists , noted that the new bio metric should contain relevant information of the dockers , saying the issuance of valid identity cards, would further help to fish out wharf rats from port operations.

He noted that issues of container broaching and cargo vandals at the terminals was orchestrated by those who have no business at the ports.

The union boss further warned members of the MWUN to desist from any form of connivance with criminal elements at the port.

He also frowned at allegations levelled against labour workers over pilfering of containers laden tramadol at the ports : mostly as it affects APMT.

He urged dockworkers at the port to embrace “Paracetamol” and not “tradamol,” stating further that security activities at the port would improve in monitoring and surveillance of persons in 2020 .

“Imagine, if NIMASA lives up to expectation, which I think the DG as I was told is working seriously and that the biometric Identity Cards of dock workers will soon be issued and they cannot do it alone without involving the union and the stevedoring contractors duly appointed by terminal operators so that they will be able to have data base of dockworkers.

“We want biometric ID cards that will carry all the information of dock workers like where they are from, their next of kin and all such.

“Those are the things NIMASA already discussed with us and very soon, we are going to make sure that all the dock workers have data base.

Recall also that the Union had directed units and districts head to fish out those behind cargo broaching at the terminals but could not yield positive result due to the issues of the new biometric identification of workers at the seaports.

The last bio metric identity card issue by NIMASA expired in 2015.