Two and a half years after they were unceremoniously disengaged from their jobs, the 22 ex staff of the Nigeria Maritime Services Ltd, (NMSL), Apapa are yet to be paid their entitlements by the company’s management.
Nigerian Maritime Services Ltd was established in 1962 by the late shipping magnate, Chief Henry Fajemirokun and is now being run by his son Chief Oladele Fajemirokun.
The 22 affected workers comprise of 16 junior and six senior staff, who had put in between 20 and 30 years with the company, were disengaged from service on February 14, 2007, through a letter signed by its managing director, Mr. Ayo Kolawole. NMSL is a subsidiary of Henry Stephens Group of Companies.
Though, the Shipping/Courier branch of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, (MWUN), had on several occasions arranged meetings with the management of MSL, there have not been any positive results as the management was alleged to have been playing hide and seek with the workers representatives.
The affected workers under the aegis of the Association of Disengaged Workers of Nigeria Maritime Services Ltd, said the firm’s managing director, Mr. Ayo Kolawole has remained nonchalant to their plights despite the fact that they have spent the better part of their life serving the company which even the founder of the company, late Henry Fajemirokun acknowledged by honouring some of them with certificate of merit before he died.
It would be recalled that, in June 2008, the aggrieved workers had written an appeal letter to the chairman of the NMSL, Chief Oladele Fajemirokun imploring him to prevail on the managing director, Mr. Ayo Kolawole to accelerate the payment of their entitlements “so that we can enjoy parts of our labour while we are still alive”
Indeed, most of the affected ex- workers are now homeless as they have been ejected from their apartments as they could not afford to pay their monthly rent dues.
Consequently, majority of them now sleep in churches and mosques even as they have sent their wives to their respective towns or villages and withdrew their children from schools.
They said: “We have made series of appeals to the chairman of the NMSL, Chief Oladele Fajemirokun and the managing director, Mr. Ayo Kolawole, but they have not shown any sufficient concern about our plights”.
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