Dockworkers Raise Alarm Over Non-compliance to NIMASA’s Marine Notice On Stevedores

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Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has raised an alarm that the marine notice issued recently by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to all dock labour employers to allow Nigerians work at their platform is not being complied with.

NIMASA in a marine notice No.106 on stevedoring regulation 2014 issued fresh operational guidelines to all dock labour employers and private operators of any work location including Ports, Jetties, Onshore or Offshore Oil and Gas or bonded terminals, inland container depots (ICDs), off dock terminals, dry ports and platforms.

The agency subsequently directed all stevedoring companies that have been appointed to move to these various platforms and commence operations with immediate effect.

But in a press release signed by President General of MWUN, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju and forwarded to DAILY TREND NEWS, the union lamented that the stevedores and dockworkers are still being denied access to these various platforms.

He said “We at the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria wish to direct the attention of the general public to a ‘Marine Notice’ Government Notice No. 106 on Stevedoring regulations, 2014 issued by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) which has been widely published in the print and electronic media”

“Some of the operators mentioned have continued to flay this government directive by their blatant refusal to grant the government appointed and NIMASA registered stevedores and dock workers access to the operational areas allocated to them by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA)”

“This is not acceptable to us as we cannot seat back, fold our arms and watch our members being disallowed to perform their statutory duties that fetch them their daily bread”

“We therefore use this medium to sound a note of warning to those stakeholders who feel that they can always flout government directive with impunity and in effect expose our members to starvation, to have a rethink and allow the government approved and NIMASA registered stevedores and dock workers access without let or hindrance, the operational areas government allocated to them to perform their legitimate duties”

The union also called on the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to implementation of the Calabar channel dredging contract in order to further open up the eastern ports for more employment of dockworkers.

The union says it is aware that the contract had been signed many years back, adding that if the port is put to use, it would develop the Niger Delta area and equally generate revenue for the federal government.

The union appreciated the NIMASA DG, Dr Bashir Jamoh, saying that the achievements of his first 100 days in office is a testimonial of several other innovations and development to come into the maritime sector.

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