Although, the strike lasted for only a few hours, the dockworkers branch of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) eventually had their way last week; at least they secured an assurance from the Nigerian Ports Authourity (NPA) that their grievances would be addressed.
The aggrieved dockworkers had thronged all(but one) the nation’s seaports last week to protest the failure of terminal operators to review their wages and for turning deaf ears to several months of requests.
Although, the strike lasted for only a few hours, the dockworkers branch of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) eventually had their way last week; at least they secured an assurance from the Nigerian Ports Authourity (NPA) that their grievances would be addressed.
The aggrieved dockworkers had thronged all(but one) the nation’s seaports last week to protest the failure of terminal operators to review their wages and for turning deaf ears to several months of requests.
Sources however revealed to our correspondent last week that the dockworkers leadership were under pressure from their members who were already suspecting sabotage and betrayal.
One of the dockworkers who spoke to Shipping Position Weekly at Apapa port gate on Tuesday while the protest was going on actually disclosed that prior to the protest, some dockworkers were already apprehensive that they were no longer been protected by their leaders.
The dockworker who pleaded anonymity told our correspondent that “the terminal operators were not taking us seriously, remember that we have been on this for long, we even wanted to go on strike last December, but the minister stopped us”.
However, unknown to many, there were plans to also match to the corporate head office of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) because according to them, NIMASA has demonstrated irresponsibility in its role as the custodian of all maritime labour matters.
One of the aggrieved dockworkers who claimed to be working in one of the terminals in Lagos Port complex said: “After the merger between NMA and JOMALIC, NIMASA was created and saddled with all maritime and seafarer responsibilities, there is a maritime labour department with a director, what are they doing”.
Our findings also revealed that it was the failure of NIMASA to rise up and look at the grievances of the dockworkers that led to the decision to embark on the one-day strike.
It would be recalled that the dockworkers had last year demonstrated at the Burma Road, head office of NIMASA, over wage -related issues.
Another reason that led to the protest was the dwindling influence of the union leaders among the terminal operators.
Our correspondent confirmed that the leaders were not accorded the type of recognition they enjoyed prior to port concessioning and that this is also affecting their rating among members of the union.
However, we confirmed that the workers may have been offered a minimum wage of N30, 000 monthly for the least paid dockworker; up from the average of N15,000 previously paid by the terminal operators.
One of the dockworkers told our correspondent that “the dockworkers were working as “slaves” under a casual system called the “manning scale.”
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