Some members of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) under the auspices of a body called ‘Concerned Dock Workers’ in Warri Delta state have written a petition to President Goodluck Jonathan over alleged moves by the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) to sack more than 10,000 Nigerian dockworkers.
Some members of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) under the auspices of a body called ‘Concerned Dock Workers’ in Warri Delta state have written a petition to President Goodluck Jonathan over alleged moves by the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) to sack more than 10,000 Nigerian dockworkers.
The letter which was sighted by Shipping Position Daily yesterday alleged that NPA is making moves to reduce the number of dockworkers in the nation’s seaports, it fingered the NPA Managing Director; Mallam Habib Abdulahi of being the brain behind the moves.
They also appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to act fast and sack the managing director of the NPA, Mallam Habibu Abdullahi from office in order for the ports to be saved from the very dark era of militancy and criminality.
Those who signed the petition on behalf of the Concerned Dockworkers are: Comrade A.F Jack, Comrade, T.T Longjohn and Comrade Lasisi Lamidi.
The safe-our-soul (SOS) raised alarm that the NPA had concluded plans to replace dock workers replaced with cargo surveyors.
According to the statement, the targeted labour workers include, tally clerks, and cargo security men operating in Nigerian ports, midstream, jetties and terminals.
The statement noted that, "it make no sense at all to sack over 10,000 tally clerks and security category of dock workers only to be replaced with less than 80 persons employed as cargo surveyors"
"It would be interesting to know the identity of those behind the cargo survey outfits for whose benefit we are threatened with sack"
"Our job as an on-board tally clerk and cargo security men have been in existence since the commencement of the pot industry in Nigeria as internationally accepted".
The letter further informed President Goodluck Jonathan that the maritime industry has the capacity to employ both skilled and unskilled labours, stressing that it is the most potent weapon to curb vices like piracy, cultism kidnapping and militancy.
The concerned dock workers further expressed their dissatisfaction with the management of NPA over the looming mass loss of jobs in the ports, pointing out that it is against the Transformation Agenda of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration.
"The entire dock workers in Lagos, Niger Delta, terminals and jetties and the Nigerian seaports in general call on you (GEJ) to please critically consider the negative multiplier effects on the economy of our great nation and attendant impact this action would have on the local population who do not have other skill or source of livelihood.
The letter stated added that, "on behalf of the entire on-board tally clerk and cargo security men working in Nigeria seaports, we are constrained to bring to your attention the eminent massive ethnic cleansing by economically impoverishing the South South men and youths by way of initiating the sack of over 10000 dockworkers that have been operating within the Nigerian ports and replace us with so called 'Cargo Surveyors' who are his cronies and friend thereby throwing legitimate tax-paying, law-abiding Nigerian registered voters out of jobs".
The letter further revealed that while an average cargo ship would engage about 60 dockworkers per day whose wages are already built into the vessel charges, only two cargo surveyor would claim same the full complement of tally clerk.
Discussion about this post