MWUN Tackles Employers Of Labour To Emulate Lekki Freeport On Workers’ Capacity Building

By Roland Ekama 

 

The Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has charged terminal operators, shipping line agencies and other employers of labour from the maritime industry to prioritize capacity building for employees .

President General of MWUN Comrade Adewale Adeyanju who gave the charge, disclosed this on Thursday in Lagos, at the close of a 2- Day training workshop organized by management of Lekki Freeport Terminal for dockworkers .

The training which was aimed at increasing the efficiency of workers at workplaces, held on Wednesday and Thursday, 6th and 7th of November, 2024 at the MWUN headquarters in Lagos.

Over 20 dockworkers benefitted from the 2-day workshop powered by Knowledge Research Consult.

The MWUN, Lekki Freeport Terminal empowerment for dockworkers focused on employees loyalty, productive work ethics and positive work attitude.

 

Speaking with journalists shortly after the training, Adeyanju who was represented by the MWUN Deputy President General (DPG), Tonye Harry stated that the training is essential for the improvement of workers’ productivity as well as giving values to themselves and the organisations they work for.

 

 

He added that the training which was delivered by Knowledge Research Consult will equip the beneficiaries with the opportunity to improve on themselves

 

His words, “Training is a very important factor in a workplace and Maritime Workers’ Union has four branches and these branches are the business of the union even as the union is a global business hence the need to train them

 

“As I said earlier, the President General does not play with training. Our PG is a man that likes members to be trained in their areas of operations.

 

“That is why he emphasises on training because what you learnt today will be obsolete tomorrow, you need to upgrade yourself, that is why he has been advocating that terminal operators, stevedoring contractors, shipping companies and parastatals should ensure they live up to expectations in terms of training members and it is in that wise that Lekki Freeport came up to organise this training.

 

“The major thing is for us to have values for ourselves in the workplace, team bonding and also to give values to Lekki Freeport Terminal that sponsored this training,” he stated.

 

The resource person, Mr David Ugwu, Managing Consultant of Knowledge Research Consult, said the training focused on three specific areas namely; Employee loyalty, positive work attitude and productive work ethics.

 

He explained that employee’s loyalty is important because disloyalty is the order of the day globally hence the need to educate employees on the need for loyalty to their organisations

 

He added that a loyal employee is always more productive than disloyal staff and that they benefit more from the organisation.

 

According to him, employees who bring positive work attitude also helps to boost the organisation’s productivity

 

Speaking further, Ugwu said that Productive work ethics was when employees knew what was right and doing what was right at the workplace

 

“The participants are supposed to by now, know what is meant to be engaged in their organisations, to be loyal to their organisations and what their organisations are supposed to do in return,” he submitted.

Comrade Muritala Ajao Ishola, District Chairman, MWUN, Lekki Freeport Terminal who lauded the initiative, called for constant training of dockworkers which he said would be of tremendous benefit to the industry.

“The training is a good one, it has impacted a lot in me and other comrades and I believe by the time we go bk to the terminal, .we will disseminate it so that others can benefit from it

 

“I believe if this training can be a constant practice, it will go a.long way in maritime industry.”