The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), has cautioned operatives of Port Health Services and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to ensure strict compliance and guidelines to ships and crew calling at the nation’s seaports, in furtherance to curb the second waves of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The union also called on terminal operators and shipping line agencies to provide all necessary Personnel Protective Equipment ( PPE) for seafarers’and dockworkers at the seaports, saying the second wave have been confirmed deadlier by the World Health Organization (WHO), medical experts and other health institutions,thus must be handled with caution .
Speaking with our correspondent in Lagos on Wednesday in Lagos, President General of the MWUN, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju reiterated that members aboard vessels and the various terminals are essential and frontline workers that must be provided with the right kits by their employers.
He stressed the need for the relevant authorities to reawaken the proactive measures as against the first wave at ports level, noting that more energy is required to curb the second wave.
Apart form the dockers and sailors, the union’s boss urged the authorities to provide PPE to other port users in order to ensure safety precautions against Covid-19 second wave.
It is very important and we should not sleep over the matter at hand. The second wave we gathered is deadlier than the first, therefore we should keep our ports safe from the pandemic. We don’t want any case of coronavirus at the seaports because if anything of such occurs this time around; we all know port operations will be affected negatively.
“The Federal Ministry of Health that has been doing a nice job should step up at the port level to create more awareness in curbing the second wave .
“We don’t want any of the relevant agencies of government to sleep over this matter because lives of the frontline workers and the nation’s economy are at stake here.
He emphasized that the crew must be properly quarantine before embarking on their operation, stressing : “We also want management of NPA to enter into strategic collaboration with the health authorities to make ensure that all protocol are adhered to by the ship captains and crew before berthing at the port.
Adeyanju who lauded efforts by the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) for the support last year for provision of palliative and PPE to the essential workers, maintained that the maritime sector remains the pillar to the nation’s economy and must be taken seriously by the relevant authorities to enable its sustainability.
By Roland Ekama
