By Uzor Odigbo
Having resolved to give peace a chance, Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has suspended it’s planned strike action against the management of Intels pending the outcome of the meeting between the two parties on Wednesday.
It would be recalled that on Sunday, 12th October, 2020, the leadership of the Union had issued a seven- day ultimatum to the management of Intels to reverse the decision to sack over 600 workers of the Associate Maritime Service, a subsidiary of Intels.
Commenting on the development on Monday, the President General of MWUN, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, said that the union decided to shelve the strike action because the management of Intels had written to the union for a meeting slated for Wednesday, 22nd October, 2020.
He added that if the terminal operator fail to yield to the demand of the workers to either re-admit or properly disengage the sacked workers, the strike would commence.
Adeyanju said, “Intels has scheduled a meeting with us for Wednesday in Lagos, we are going to be there to hear what they want to tell us.
“If what they are going to tell us is not in line with the demands of the workers,the strike will commence.
“Over the years, negotiation has always been with Intels, there was nothing like separating them from each other.
“Associate Maritime Service (AMS) is a subsidiary of Intels but because they want to reduce or downsize workers, they now said we should go and discuss with another body,” he maintained.
Speaking further, he commended the management of Tincan Island Container Terminal for prompt response to call of the workers in the terminal to review the workers salaries.
He said the workers had expressed displeasure over tactical delay of the negotiation of the welfare package which is due every two years.
He stated that after meeting with the management of the terminal, a new Collective Bargaining Agreement had been signed by all parties concerned late last week