The Dockworkers branch of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has expressed fear of imminent massive job loss by her members due to lack of activities at the various terminals across the country, a development occasioned by fall in the number of vessels calling at Nigerian ports.
President of the Dockworkers Branch of MWUN; Comrade Adewale Adeyanju in an interview with Shipping Position Daily in Lagos yesterday lamented that already some members of the union have lost their jobs at PTML and Flour Mills Nigeria Limited which recently sacked some workers.
The Dockworkers branch of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has expressed fear of imminent massive job loss by her members due to lack of activities at the various terminals across the country, a development occasioned by fall in the number of vessels calling at Nigerian ports.
President of the Dockworkers Branch of MWUN; Comrade Adewale Adeyanju in an interview with Shipping Position Daily in Lagos yesterday lamented that already some members of the union have lost their jobs at PTML and Flour Mills Nigeria Limited which recently sacked some workers.
He said that PTML terminals had sacked MWUN members under Shipping Branch and that 169 dockworkers were equally sacked by Flour Mills Nigeria Limited recently.
Apparently afraid that this may continue, Adeyanju called on President Muhammadu Buhari to review the rice import policy, the Automotive Policy among others. He lamented that many rice vessels have deserted Nigerian port for Cotonou port, leaving Nigerian ports empty.
Comrade Adeyanju told our correspondent that one of the biggest terminal in the country; APM Terminal has also experienced vessel decline. He said that the terminal usually receives more than 20 vessels in a month, but that this has reduced sharply to 15 vessels.
Investigations carried out by Shipping Position Dailyat PTML terminal also revealed that seven vessels usually call at the port in a week, but this has reduced to one vessel per week.
Speaking further, the Dockworkers President said,"it is not until terminal operators send us letter of downsizing, we have already prepared for downsizing because the job is not coming, we hope that the new administration will make things better to make the life of everybody easy"
"We all know that in the port generally now there is no vessel, we the workers are feeling the pains, there is no job"
"Imagine APMT, hardly can you get six vessels in one week, APMT that we believe are the number one terminal operator in West Africa, hardly could they stevedore six vessels in a week, this is to tell you it is biting harder and affecting the life of dockworkers"
"APMT usually stevedores more than20 vessels in a month, but now they could hardly get 16, a few weeks back they got only one vessel" he claimed.
Comrade Adeyanju reiterated that rice-laden vessels have disappeared from Nigerian ports because of the high tariff placed on the commodity by the Federal Government, he stressed that majority of the vessels have been diverted to Cotonou Port, he added, "you will see all of them lining up there".
According to him, there is need to supplement the rice that is being produced locally in Nigeria because, according to him, local production is not enough.
The situation is affecting the economy, the welfare of dockworkers and the maritime sector as a whole, if you go to Calabar and Port Harcourt there is no vessel, if Lagos is crying of no traffic, what do you expect from the other ports"
"I receive distress calls all the time, but all we can do is to appeal to the new administration to do something better" he said.
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