Eugene Nweke (President, NAGAFF)
Eugene Nweke (President, NAGAFF)
The international convention is structured to form a basic standard for a common practice, so that of labour will not be an exception, it is an international convention that Nigeria should be signatory to, if we are signatory then we transfer it by way of domesticating it here, this is the only time we can talk about international best practices within the labour industry. So if you are asking if we should ratify it then I put it to you why should you ask that question, Is Nigeria an island of its own? What we stand to lose out is that the recognition of our labour force which will be questionable, the level of compliance to international best practices will also be questionable, another aspect is in terms of protection, when the labour are facing oppression by the government, the international assistance may not come forth, it’s just like any other convention in place and we don’t need to ask if we should ratify it, it is a norm to do it.
Otunba Kunle Folarin (Chairman, Port Consultative Council, PCC)
We must ratify the convention, we all subscribed to the debates at Geneva, we know the main issues that we have discussed, and particularly the welfare of workers and the standard of work, the issue of continued capacity in the industry. The Maritime Labour Convention of 2006 is the main document that should be the policy direction to the Nigerian Maritime labour sector. I must tell you that Nigeria stands to gain because as it is today, human capacity is the focus, we lack adequate manpower in all sectors, either seafarers, dockworkers, freight forwarding and so on, we need to focus on that, the MLC of 2006 looked into the whole ratification of these issues I have raised now, it is a must for Nigeria, we must ratify it, we must adopt it and we must make it to work. Nigeria is already making moves, there are so many steps in adopting a convention, it is not only subscribing to it, it must go through The National Assembly and that is a must, the ministry of labour must call up the national labour advisory body which will now look into the convention and then recommend it to the government, and from the federal executive council where it must have been looked into, it must go to the National Assembly and afterwards receive the approval of Mr. President, it is a long process but we must go there.
Capt. Adewale Ishola (Master Mariner)
A section of the Maritime Labor Convention of 2006 was to improve the welfare of the seafarers; it is supposed to improve the service of our seafarers. It should be beneficial to the seafarers, it should improve their living conditions outward and outlook as well, it will also improve the condition of their families which is as a result of multiplier effects of what this law intends to achieve. Also, if Nigeria has to join committee of nations in trying to improve the welfare of seafarers, we must measure up to the international standard, it is a wake-up call for our country, now there is a standard that things must be done, one of the things the convention will correct is to make sure that people are not being overworked, the main reason for avoiding fatigue is because of accidents. 80 percent of accidents happen due to human error, equipment failure is of little percentage but 80 percent is due to human error, and what causes that is lack of sleep, you cannot think well if you do not sleep well, that is why hours of rest or hours of work must be adhered to. You must have maximum number of hours you must work, and the number of hours you must rest. Moreover, if accidents occur, you don’t have to criminalize the seafarers, rather you will have to look at what could have caused the accident.
Otunba Hugh Nwaneri (M.D. Elkins Marine)
I will advise Nigeria to hold on before ratifying the maritime labor convention; they should wait and see what goes on in the other international community. They can put it into consideration, after some years then they will go on to ratify it, since there has been so much ratification, if they keep on ratifying all these conventions, little things will be done. What government needs to do is to look into the empowerment of personnel, train the seafarers on board.
Dr. Zebulon Ikokhide (President, IFFN)
Ratifying it should be the first thing Nigeria should do, so that they will see Nigeria as fair in terms of labour matters, otherwise if we don’t, it will seem as if Nigeria has a hidden agenda in terms of labour matters and about international convention. Government should look into the ratification of labour matters that have already gone international; there is nothing wrong with the ratification. We will lose international recognition in terms of labour, because labour is also human right on its own, therefore it is better that Nigeria go along with labour matters that are all international, that is why they have to ratify it, if we don’t, Nigeria can lose international recognition in terms of labour matters. Not only recognizing labour laws that are international, we must also recognize all other laws that are affecting the maritime sector, there are so many laws that have been ratified but the National Assembly has not done anything about.
Comrade Owolabi Omotayo (MWUN)
I think Nigeria should ratify the convention because we can’t work in isolation, moreover we have a lot to gain from the international convention, it is good for Nigeria to ratify it because it will attract international investors into the sector, knowing very well that Nigeria is operating under the international convention and not with any local law, Nigeria has a lot to gain from the ratification. The only area Nigeria may be losing is when they do not meet up with equipment to function with, no standard vessels in order to measure up with the foreign ones, and they are also going to compete with the haulage in the sector here in Nigeria, the Nigerian government should at least encourage the indigenous investors to acquire those equipment which will give them the edge over their international counterparts.
Anabaraonye Joseph (Registrar, FFAN)
It is necessary for there to be an international convention for the insurance of dockworkers and labour, there is no reason why we should not ratify it, it is not even just ratification but the domestication of most of these international conventions because we have ratified so many of them but they are still not applicable in Nigeria, ratifying conventions does not make it practicable or possible in Nigeria, it is the domestication of those conventions that matters, we should be talking of how to domesticate them not just ratification. Ratifying it does not make it a solution because if you ratify it, it doesn’t mean it is applicable in Nigeria, what makes it applicable or enforceable in Nigeria is when it is domesticated so that the law can be applicable and so that Nigerian dockworkers and labour workers can go to Nigerian Courts to get justice based on those conventions, but if we just ratify it and not domesticate it, we won’t be able to achieve results at the end.
Ademola Irinyemi (Registrar, IFFN)
Ratifying the convention is a welcome development because it has a global inclination, every other maritime nation in the world developed and worked towards the ratification of maritime labour laws and I think Nigeria following suit is a good development. More so, the law will create room for bigger platform of employment of labour and human capital in the maritime industry. It will also give some level of leverage, and dockworkers will not be deprived of their legitimate entitlements anymore, in some occasions where there is no ratification they will not be able to confront situations, but by the ratification, it will give them access to the benefits that they are entitled to. The convention will also work as an instrument to enhancing seafarers activities, apart from these it will help Nigeria as a nation to reduce capital flight, it will give us a room to engage our indigenes in labour, because at some point foreigners used to be engaged in our stevedoring and seafaring activities, but in this case now, with the ratification they will be excluded. The only disadvantage of the law is that the employers might eventually want to downsize, since it has been given a global recognition, they will want to reduce cost by downsizing.
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