Merchant Navy Union Seek NIMASA Intervention To Tackle Salary Disparity Of Seafarers

By Roland Ekama 

The Nigeria Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association (NMNOWTSSA) has advocated for the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to tackle issues of wages and salary disparity between foreign and indigenous seafarers onboard vessels, despite the same job description and qualifications .

Secretary General of the seafarers Union, Comrade John Okpono Aleakhue who disclosed this at an event held at Eko hotel, termed FACE TO FACE WITH DG in Lagos recently on behalf of the NMNOWTSSA National President, Engr. BOB Joseph Yousuo, decried the wide disparity among the seafarers’ thus, urging the apex maritime regulatory agency to address the burning issues.

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) affiliate body, Secretary General further called on NIMASA to join the maritime politics by signing bilateral agreement with maritime nations, as part of measures toward engaging Nigerian seafarers globally. He sited example with Ghana that has more than 15 multilateral agreement with Maritime Nations of the world.

According to him, payment of Nigerian seafarers are incomparable with their foreign counterparts an issue that demands urgent attentionby NIMASA.

Lamenting on the ill treatment of some ship owners on Nigerian sailors, Aleakhue noted that:”Wage disparity and poor wages is a big issue begging for the attention of the regulator, NIMASA.

” Therefore we are calling on NIMASA to look at the issue on the ground because the Cabotage act speaks volumes to that effect.”Aleakhue lamented.

He stated that seafarers need class one and class two respectively, to compete with their counterparts onboard ships, campaigning that wages and salaries of the seafarers’ onboard such vessels should not have a wide gap. We are aware that the foreign seafarers should earn slightly above the indigenous seafarers as a result of foreign allowances.

The Union scribe further lamented that the negligence of Nigerians seafarers’ onboard vessels have been alarming, even as he advised management of NIMASA through the Executive Director Cabotage Services to prioritize issues on the Certificate of Competence (CoC) obtained by the seafarers’ .

He opined that the cabotage regime that ought to have been a blessing is now otherwise as waivers have taken the jobs met for Nigerian SEAFARERS to the hands of foreign seafarers. He urged the DG to look at the issue of waivers with eagle eyes.