By Uzor Odigbo
At last, the management of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) is set to commence payment of severance packages for tally clerks and on board ship gangway security disengaged in 2015.
According to the President General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Adewale Adeyanju in a statement on Friday, the payment would commence on Monday, December 23 at the NPA sports ground, Bode Thomas in Surulere, Lagos.
Adeyanju explained that payment will commence in Lagos area before proceeding to other parts of the country where operations of the dockers were affected.
He also commended management of the Nigeria Ports Authority led by Hadiza Bala Usman , Nigeria Labour Congress and that of transportation, for the support in ensuring that the payment of affected dockworkers are actualised.
The statement reads in full: “We wish to inform the general public that at the long last, severance packages will be paid to the tally clerks and onboard ship gangway security men disengaged from service 2015.
“It would be recalled that as a full out of the port reform exercises of those categories of workers were found not necessary, hence they were disengaged from service 2015 and they have since remained unpaid of severance packages.
“Following their several agitation and protest for payment and severance package which were usually accompanied with tension in all the seaports , management of the Nigeria Ports Authority NPA constituted a verification committee whose membership was drawn from NPA, stevedoring companies and the Union to ascertain those who are due for payment of severance packages.
“The committee carried out it assignment in all the seaports between 17 to 28 December 2018 and later submitted its report to NPA.
“However, when to response was received, the disengaged workers kept their agitation and protest aglow with the attendant participation of tension in our ports and this made the union to forward several letters to the Honourable Minister of Transportation . Copies of which were forwarded to President Nigeria Labour Congress in order to avoid escalation.
“We are happy to say that on the 5th of September 2019, approval for payment was granted by the federal ministry of transportation vide letter FMT 0160 / S166/11/521 and several meeting with the management of the Nigeria Ports Authority NPA,payment in the Lagos area has been scheduled to commence on Monday 23rd December 2019 at the NPA sport ground in Bode Thomas , Surulere.
“We wish to use this medium to the Managing Director NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman for her prompt attention to issues concerning welfare of workers both serving and retired.
“We also want to thank the honorable minister of transportation and permanent secretary for granting approvals to pay the disengaged workers severance packages.
“Of course we equally thank the President, Nigerian Labour Congress for his timely interventions which has stalled escalation of the issue.”