By Eberechi Obinagwam
Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has called on the management of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council to give consideration to the proposal of Ports and Terminals Multiservices Limited (PTML) and other terminals operators for an increment in the vehicle/car tariffs which has not been reviewed over a decade.
The union in a release by the head of Media, MWUN, Comrade John Kennedy Ikemefuna, over the weekend, said the review which is obtained in ENL, Josep dam, Port and Cargo and other terminals alike is to enable them to meet the obligations of their members, dockworkers to forestall an imminent break down of industrial peace in the nation’s seaports as they are the economic regulators in the sector.
The statement explained PTML and other terminals operators under the umbrella of the Seaports Terminals Operators (STOAN) have over the years borne the burden of wages, salaries, and allowances; with the management of Dockworkers as in saner economic climes, which unfortunately they cannot further shoulder due to the general inflation rate, deteriorating economic condition; increasing operational/administrative costs; high rate of exchange value and other such economic factors.
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It said, consequent to the above, PTML and other terminals operators have indicated their inability to meet the provisions of the minimum standard of Dock labour, which they recently negotiated and signed for implementation as supervised by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and NIMASA, unfortunately, the prevailing situation in the nation’s economy had directly hampered their capacity to implement the subsisting NJIC agreement.
The union said, as a result of the above and the inability of the management to meet its obligations and Dockworkers expectations, there’s now rising tension amongst the rank and file of our Dockworkers members in all the terminals, ports, jetties, and all oil and gas platforms.
