PORT CONCESSION: MWUN Loses 21,000 Workers   In Sixteen Years

...ITF Assures Of Sacked Workers Reinstatement

 

The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) on Monday, 26th September 2022, disclosed that a total of 21,000 members from  dockworkers and Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) branches  lost their respective jobs in the process of port concession between 2006 till date.

The Nigerian port terminals were concessioned in 2006 to foreign and indigenous terminal operators by the federal government through Public Private Partnership Agreement (PPP).

President General MWUN Comrade Adewale Adeyanju who gave the figure  in Lagos during an interactive session with top officials from the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) from UK and three other affiliates  from Kenya, Ghana and Liberia, stressed the need for global standard Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between employers and employees of labour.

While giving a breakdown of the job loss of workers from the two branches, the unionist  explained that 13,000 members from the dockers were disengaged from service while 8,000 workers from the NPA were laid off in the process of port concession within the period.

Adeyanju reiterated that the disbanding of on-board ship gangway security men and their replacement by non-statutory cargo surveyor personnel led  to the high number of job  loss by registered dockworkers.

He also maintained that the  over eight thousand jobs lost by members of the Nigerian Ports Authority branch mostly  occurred during the same period .

The PG said”I have been asked to prepare a report on issues surrounding union challenges,strategies, privatisation of ports, organizing dock workers in the west Africa sub-continent and relations with APMT.

” As a union challenges are numerous and because of time I respectfully ask your permission to list them as follows:”Loss of over thirteen thousand (13000) jobs by dock workers; Loss of over eight thousand jobs by our members in the Nigerian Ports Authority in our ports administrators.

While highlighting further challenges of downsizing of to the workers in Nigerian seaports, Adeyanju told his foreign guests that”The fizzling out of tally clerks,  disbanding of on-board ship gangway security men and their replacement by non-statutory cargo surveyor personnel thus, led to loss of job  by registered dock workers,Indiscriminate work ethics in defiance of laid down procedure for working environment.

The MWUN boss also decried the non conformity of law by the to have also led to the downsizing of workers noting that harassment of members by private enterprise was highly responsible for the job losses as well.

Responding, U.K representatives of ITF Comrade Enrico Totarlano assured the well attended meeting by leaders of the dockers that the international federation will ensure the sacked employees are reinstated.

Enrico further clamoured for single global CBA workers adding that the cardinal point of the meeting should centre on effective communication among the four countries of labour unions before extending the moves to other maritime states.

 

Enrico called for another meeting in the first quarter of 2023 ,as part of efforts to strengthen the modalities on global standardisation of CBA for dockers.

 

Also speaking Secretary  ITF Africa representatives, Comrade Mohammed Safiano , stressed the need for women to seek elective positions  in their respective unions noting that a seminar for female transport workers will be held soonest to train,retrain and re- skilled them on effective leadership roles.

 

 

By Roland Ekama