Oluyinka Onigbinde
Organised unions under the Nigeria Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association (NMNOWTSSA) and Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) have expressed satisfaction over the National Industrial Joint Council (NJIC) meeting which held in Lagos on Wednesday.
The unions stated that the tripartite meeting involving ship owners, manning agents, regulatory agency and labour in line with the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) was laudable.
The meeting, which held in Lagos had in attendance, representatives from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian Trawler Owners Association (NITOA) Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN) , McGeorge Onyung , Nigerian Indigenous Ship Owners Association (NISA), Nigerian Seafarers Welfare Board (NSWB) and top officials from various manning agents.
After the meeting, President General, MWUN, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, who spoke to newsmen on behalf of the Seamen and Water Transport /NIWA Branch, stated that with NIMASA’s directives for seafarers, there is need for effective enforcement that will be binding to all parties involved.
He said the enforcement of CBA must be embraced and encouraged by the regulatory agency because according to him, NJIC has come to stay and the union will support the other parties involved.
Read Also: Ship Operators Adopting Green Shipping – Shippers Council
Adeyanju also commended the President of Nigeria Indigenous Ship Owners Association (NISA), Alhaji Aminu Umar and the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh for their intervention to ensure that NJIC is actualised.
“Though observers are more than the employers today, we need the real employers of labour in subsequent meetings of this nature. We are satisfied with the ship owners and their position.
“I must commend the president of NISA because he shed some lights that I am satisfied with.
“NJIC covers the union, regulatory agency and employers. Ours is to protect the workers and the unions have embraced it
On his part, Secretary General, NMNOWTSSA, Comrade John Okpono who spoke to newsmen on the sideline, maintained that the meeting was more of a ceremony, noting that the last NJIC expired in 2020 and collectively all parties involved have agreed to work together.
Kindly like us on Facebook/twitter
