In this interview with Shipping Position Daily, the President General of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN); Comrade Anthony Nted Emmanuel talked about several maritime industry-centred issues. He talked about the raging row over tally clerks and on board security men, assessed 10 years of port concession, and the coming elections into the national leadership of the union and others.
•‘’Investigation revealed that NPA top officers have their respective cargo surveyors; even the people in PDP government all had their own cargo surveyors and that is why they are bent on sending away tally clerk to engage cargo surveyors"
Some members of the seamen and NIWA branch of the union recently accused you of failing to take any action over the lay-off of about 1,500 workers by Nigerdock Plc. What is your reaction to this?
Sometimes it’s very funny because I don't think we have any issue with that. Before now there is a union at Nigerdock called SHAWUN, which is union that managed Nigerdock workers and we went to the ministry of labour for arbitration and the ministry said that place did not belong or fall under the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria. However we gathered that the other union is not taking care of the workers therefore the workers tried to opt out and they came to meet our own seaman branch executives, that they want to belong to the Maritime Workers Union and we asked them to put it in writing; along the line the police came, arrested some of them and they were taken to Abuja and I remember I called my people that we cannot violate the law because the ministry of labour had said those people do not belong to our union, therefore we should allow them to remain where they are and they say they don't want to belong to that union, then they can go and look elsewhere because we don't want to create trouble when there is none. We also found out that the people who actually indicated interest to join our union are not true representative of the workers of Nigerdock and as such we stayed off. I don't think I need to speak on issues the minister has already given judgment upon and that is the major reason I kept quiet about the whole situation because I don't want to create more tension in the industry.
Looking at the forthcoming elections that will usher – in a new President General for the MWUN; how true is it that you have a candidate?
You know Bob Marley once sang ‘who the cap fit, let him wear it’. I have only one vote and that vote cannot guarantee my candidate of winning the election. Therefore the man that will contest for the post of the President General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria will campaign and I will support that person, but I have one vote and that may not allow the person to win. The man that will contest the post of President General will campaign and I will support him if he is credible, I can't support two people at the same time, I can only support one person. And the constitution allows anybody who is in the Central Working Committee to contest for the post and all the people that came for this CWC meeting are qualified to contest for the post. But at the end of the contest, one man will emerge and don't also forget that there is room for anyone who is qualified to contest, to do so. However, whoever chooses to contest for PG position is free to do that, but what I am pointing out is that there is no place in our constitution that says there will be rotation between the branches of the union for the post of President General. They know that I cannot bring in a tout to lead them, but I am bringing somebody who is qualified from one of the branches. Do not forget also that during the election that brought me in as President General of the union; Comrade Bakare said he also wanted to contest, but the workers said the cap fits Tony Nted and Tony should be, but Bakare said ‘No’, then we decided to go to the ring and fight, but at the end, I had 112 votes and that is what I refer to as who the cap fits. Therefore, whoever that is eager to come up as President General of the union is free to contest and that is not an issue but what I am trying to point out is that there is no place in our constitution that gives room for rotational presidency within the branches; rather the law says that members of the central working committee are qualified for that post and there is no tension at all in the union because on that day we will tell everybody that this is the person whom the cap fits and everybody will support that, because there is no where I can bring a tout to come and be their leader; I am bringing someone that is qualified to manage the industry. Don't also forget that dockworkers have70% of the workforce in the union and if you pull them out there will be nothing like Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria and for you to go there and manage them, you need somebody who the cap fits.
What is your view about the re-introduction of dockworkers pool?
Recently I saw on the pages of newspapers that they paid some of the dockworkers N350,000 to N400,000 and to me It makes no sense. I have travelled to about 24 seaports of the world in course of this job and all the places we visited the dockworkers are placed in the pool. When you are in the pool and a vessel calls at the port; the will call Tony for instance , bring 10 men to stevedore the vessel and when we are done with the stevedoring job on the vessel, then they will pay and I will pay all my members which ends that job. There is nothing like terminal benefit or pension in that regards. Rather the only thing they do is that when you stevedore the vessel, they will pay maybe five to ten per cent to take care of the agents and it is well organised. When JODLIC was in existence we had a pool of dockworkers and the pool of dockworkers were mainly the tally clerk and on board security men and whenever you need them for service, you call them and they do your work for you, pay them after completion and they leave immediately. But in Nigeria it is not so, rather they use politics to remove the pool. JODLIC move to JOMALIC then NIMASA and now they are saying that the terminal operators should provide a pool for the workers; which is not done in any part of the world because the pool are being managed by the port authority which we now refer to as NIMASA because they represent the government and when you have a vessel and we stevedore that vessel you pay me at once and for all, no more no less. But in Nigeria, we don't have anything like that. Although we have three types of operations: one is tonnage payment, unit payment and container, we have the time related wage. The time related wage has to do with those who are on terminal employment; you can employ me today to do any terminal job for you based on the nature of your job. For example APMT and Intels with some few others employed people on permanent basis, ENL is into tonnage payment whereby you get paid based on what you work – (work less make less money) and union found out that the system in this country is so porous and that we are not getting much and we now introduced gratuity and we said they must pay pension and today all of them are paying pension to our members whether they are casual or not which is based on the law. In the area gratuity I said let us start from somewhere because we negotiated for more than three months with NPA, NIMASA, terminal operators. We agreed that the terminal that carried too many people because if there is no traffic there will be no job for the workers ; it is when you have vessel that there will be jobs and we said those big terminals with 1000 and above persons will pay N350,000, but the one with less number will pay N700,000 per person at your exit and we believe that in every two years they will review it upwards until we get to a certain point, but at the end of this group of people are adamant because APMT who have condition of service paid their workers terminal benefit because the workers said they needed their money because politics was involved in the process. In a town hall meeting with them I made it clear that the implication will be that we are losing N200million monthly for APMT management but because of their foolishness they said they wanted their money. They have collected that money and today they are regretting. The same also goes for the dockworkers at ENL who also came up to say that they wanted their money too because they failed to understand the difference between tonnage payment and terminal employment, but they did not understand the condition of service. They fail to understand that those people have handbook, the people working there were interviewed before they are being engaged but for these people they don't have qualifications, they don't have letter of appointment and nothing to show for their engagement and that was how the fight started and about 600 of them were given their monies and they left.
What is the update on the issue surrounding tally clerk and on board security with the NPA?
I think the NPA is being economical with the truth. Even the minister of transport, but I don't blame the minister because he just came on board and does not understand the industry as such. The NPA should know the difference between cargo survey and tally clerk, but they are playing to the gallery. The former MD of NPA, Chief Adebayo Sarumi was instrumental on this issue, he is still alive and he insisted that they will get cargo survey. There is no where you tally liquid, bulk, or goods in silos and we had to create cargo surveyors and they have instrument of calibration because we can know the deadweight to know the content of the vessel and that is the essence of cargo surveyor. But the way NPA is going about this issue with their cohorts on the cargo survey is something else, because our investigation reveals that NPA top officers have their respective cargo surveyors even the people in PDP government all had their own cargo surveyors. They have their surveyors that is why they are bent on sending away tally clerks to engage cargo surveyors ; the tally clerk are elite, people who are educated, they have qualifications, they do the tally yet you want to send them away just like that after 10 years. But that matter is in court and that is how far we have gone with NPA because we don't want to create panic in the industry or stop operations, the new administration will say we are supporting PDP and that is why we encourage the workers to go to court and let the court decide whether by ILO conventions or by the IMO convention 137; whether the dockworkers are entitled to something. The law will take its course and it will give verdict.
What is the union's perception on port concession, it’s 10 years already?
Me, I don't know whether the port concession is 10 years or 20 years. But what we know is that vessels are no longer calling in our ports, the dockworkers are suffering even though they are working. We are mainly worried about the terminal operators and their poor infrastructures as far as port concession is concerned. If you go to APMT, I think are doing their best, they are trying, they are bringing in new equipment. Intels is fantastic. ENL tried to refurbish some of their cranes and get some new ones; their job does not require so many cranes as they do liquid bulk, about five per cent of their job is container operation. But as far as I am concerned, port concession is not too bad, compared to when NPA was managing the port; everywhere was toll gate then, everybody demanding money for every little assignment then. Then there were over 20 agencies in the port. Today, concession has helped the port operations.
What is your view on rice policy?
Some of these policies are totally unacceptable to the masses. I don’t know if we have rice that can feed the population, all these should have a gradual process. But how long will it take for the rice to grow to feed Nigerians. Today as we talk, a bag of rice is N18,000, the food all Nigerians eat daily is rice. Some of the policies are inimical to Nigerians, they need to revisit them and review. Port that use to have 20 vessels daily now it is not so anymore, and government says it is trying to save money. This is time to think.
*First published in June, 2016
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