Prior to the emergence of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), there used to be four workers union in the Nigerian maritime industry. One of them was the Dockworkers Union of Nigeria (DUN).
The DUN was so powerful that it took a very determined Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) to get its buy-in for the four bodies to merge into what is now known as the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria.
To underscore its strength, the first President General of the MWUN (Comrade Uzoije Ukaumunna) was a dockworker.
He ruled over the union for many years, turning dockworkers to tin gods in the ports, so powerful was he that he could order that a particular ship must not berth.
He and of course, dockworkers were so powerful that Government, realised that for its port reform programme to succeed, it must reform the union.
The removal of the Ukaumunna-led executives was reportedly based on petitions from users and providers of port services to the effect that the leadership of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria had become a near terrorist organisation; intimidating shipping companies, harassing the management of Nigerian Ports Authourity( which was at that time, the master stevedore) and also intimidating other groups. Ukaumunna was a dockworker, and most of the atrocities were being committed by dockworkers. The incumbent President General of the union; Comrade Tony Nted Emmanuel is also a dockworker
Before going too far, let us reminiscence on some of the perceived attributes of the Nigerian dockworker, prior to port concession. They were seen to be very violent, and always agitated. They were perceived as being largely illiterate. In the area of employment, they had no identifiable employer that can be held accountable for their remuneration. In the area of their activities in the ports, the union and its members had free access to cargoes on board ships. Sometimes, they pilfer too or forcefully take portions of such cargoes.
Importantly too, one sharp practice that was prevalent was Akugbe (a local coinage for defrauding the cargo handing companies and stevedoring companies). The union leaders were directly involved in placement of dockworkers at the various terminals. For doing this, the leadership (or more precisely the President General) put less men on the job, collected wages for the men, paid them what he felt was okay for them and pocketed the rest.
Surprisingly and sadly too, the average dockworkers had to live with it. It was the era where naked force and brute ruled. The PG of the MWUN, the branch President and on to the leader of the various lower echelon were lords; unquestionable!
Arguably, the port concession effectively addressed all of the above. So it seemed, until recent developments which exposed the current plight of dockworkers.
It is also instructive that issues bordering on employment status, remuneration, welfare and sadly, influx of unregistered dockworkers are coming up, 10 years into port concession.
There have been deaths of many dockworkers, there have been many industrial accidents leading to permanent injuries to the workers.
Recently, there were protests at the ENL Terminal, where aggrieved dockworkers alleged that they were yet to be given employment letters, 10 years after they were engaged by the terminal operator.
In all of these, one alarming development is the come-back of dockworkers who are no longer engaged in the ports. There are confirmations that they are back, and that they are being accommodated by the leadership of the dockworkers at the unit and district levels.
For whatever reason, the union and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) are keeping quiet about the looming crisis which the come-back of unemployed and disengaged dockworkers represents.
It is our hope and prayer that the nation’s port system will not witness the reckless and militancy demonstrated by dockworkers during the pre-port concession era.
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