Industrial Unrest Looms as Maritime Workers Issue Strike Notice
14 Nov 2014
Linda Eroke
Nigeria ThisDay
Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has given the federal government up till Monday, November 17, to withdraw the directive given to terminal operators to revert to their 2009 tariff failing which all port operations in country would be shut down.
The union said the decision to embark on an industrial action followed the refusal by terminal operators and Stevedoring contractors to negotiate the Dockworkers’ condition of service, which was long due for renegotiation. According to the union, the refusal to negotiate a new condition of service with members was as a result of the directive by the federal government.
“Our attention has been drawn to the recent directive from Shippers Council to Sea Port Terminal Operators, instructing them to revert to their 2009 tariff as a panacea to achieving an acceptable lower overall cost of doing business in our Sea Ports, the workers warned in a petition to the Minister of Transport, the workers said.
The added: “We acknowledge the need to make our Sea Ports less expensive as one of the critical factors in making our ports the preferred ports within the sub-region. We however wish to observe that the prevailing high cost of doing business in our Ports needs to be addressed holistically if the desired goal is to be achieved in its entirety.”
The petition dated November 10 and signed by the union’s Secretary General, Mr. Aham Ubani, insisted that the under listed cost factors need to be addressed realistically.
“There are poor access roads to the port which gives rise to higher cost of trucking goods in and out of the ports, presence and practice of illegal tolls/extortions by various agencies operating in the ports both legally and illegally, activities of some customs men and officers which also add to the operational cost of ports, effect of congestions giving rise to demurrage and additional increase on the cost of clearing goods in the port, delay in effecting custom examination and the attitude of most customs officer as lords who must be worshipped by agents rather than serving the needs of the customers as diligent civil servants, among others, they stressed.”
According to the union, an institution with or without known legal authority to perform the duties of Port Regulator could evolve such biased directive targeting terminal operational costs alone with dire consequences on our members – the Dockworkers and operational efficiency without informed consultation with relevant stakeholders on all the above elements and their cost burden implications on the Seaports, coupled with non-consideration of the present customers price index and current rate of inflation.
The union said it was aggrieved by the consequences of the directive as manifested in the refusal of employers to negotiate the Dockworkers Condition of Service which is due for re-negotiation this year, 2014.
“Our members the Dockworkers have become restive and may resort to self-help action nationwide with effect from Monday 17th November 2014 if the Terminal Operators still refuse to negotiate on the grounds of being incapacitated by the directive. While humbly soliciting the Minister prompt intervention on this issue, we by copy of this letter to Shipper Council are demanding for immediate withdrawal of this biased directive to allow for search for a collective solution to the issue. Our demand is based on our honest desire to avert avoidable crisis in the Maritime Sector,” the union added.
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| Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria is threatening to shut down ports. |
Linda Eroke
Nigeria ThisDay
Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has given the federal government up till Monday, November 17, to withdraw the directive given to terminal operators to revert to their 2009 tariff failing which all port operations in country would be shut down.
The union said the decision to embark on an industrial action followed the refusal by terminal operators and Stevedoring contractors to negotiate the Dockworkers’ condition of service, which was long due for renegotiation. According to the union, the refusal to negotiate a new condition of service with members was as a result of the directive by the federal government.
“Our attention has been drawn to the recent directive from Shippers Council to Sea Port Terminal Operators, instructing them to revert to their 2009 tariff as a panacea to achieving an acceptable lower overall cost of doing business in our Sea Ports, the workers warned in a petition to the Minister of Transport, the workers said.
The added: “We acknowledge the need to make our Sea Ports less expensive as one of the critical factors in making our ports the preferred ports within the sub-region. We however wish to observe that the prevailing high cost of doing business in our Ports needs to be addressed holistically if the desired goal is to be achieved in its entirety.”
The petition dated November 10 and signed by the union’s Secretary General, Mr. Aham Ubani, insisted that the under listed cost factors need to be addressed realistically.
“There are poor access roads to the port which gives rise to higher cost of trucking goods in and out of the ports, presence and practice of illegal tolls/extortions by various agencies operating in the ports both legally and illegally, activities of some customs men and officers which also add to the operational cost of ports, effect of congestions giving rise to demurrage and additional increase on the cost of clearing goods in the port, delay in effecting custom examination and the attitude of most customs officer as lords who must be worshipped by agents rather than serving the needs of the customers as diligent civil servants, among others, they stressed.”
According to the union, an institution with or without known legal authority to perform the duties of Port Regulator could evolve such biased directive targeting terminal operational costs alone with dire consequences on our members – the Dockworkers and operational efficiency without informed consultation with relevant stakeholders on all the above elements and their cost burden implications on the Seaports, coupled with non-consideration of the present customers price index and current rate of inflation.
The union said it was aggrieved by the consequences of the directive as manifested in the refusal of employers to negotiate the Dockworkers Condition of Service which is due for re-negotiation this year, 2014.
“Our members the Dockworkers have become restive and may resort to self-help action nationwide with effect from Monday 17th November 2014 if the Terminal Operators still refuse to negotiate on the grounds of being incapacitated by the directive. While humbly soliciting the Minister prompt intervention on this issue, we by copy of this letter to Shipper Council are demanding for immediate withdrawal of this biased directive to allow for search for a collective solution to the issue. Our demand is based on our honest desire to avert avoidable crisis in the Maritime Sector,” the union added.
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