The Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has announced a breakthrough in its long-standing dispute with shipping companies, reaching a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that establishes a new minimum standard wage for workers in that sub-sector.
Speaking on the sideline of the visit of Mrs. Barning Annica Marie, ITF Project Coordinator for Maritime Affiliate Support (MAS), to the Nigerian Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association (NMNOWTSSA) on Tuesday, the MWUN President General, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, said the agreement marks a milestone in the union’s fight for better working conditions and welfare for its members. “We have concluded negotiations for a Collective Bargaining Agreement for workers in the shipping sub-sector of the maritime industry,” he said.
Adeyanju recalled the union’s previous declaration of a state of emergency in the sector due to the failure of shipping companies to engage in negotiations. However, he expressed satisfaction with the agreement reached, stating that: “We are satisfied with what we have achieved so far. We will sign the agreement on Monday.”
The new minimum standard wage is seen as a welcome development, ending the era of “death sentences” for shipping workers after retirement. Adeyanju hinted that the union would continue to push for more benefits, saying, “as Oliver Twist, we will definitely ask for more at the right time.”
The agreement is a significant achievement for the union after 20 years of squabbles with shipping companies, and it is expected to improve the working conditions and welfare of workers in the subsector.
