INTELS: 500 Sacked Workers Cripple Activities At Eastern Ports
About 500 workers of Associate Maritime Services, a subsidiary of Integrated Logistics Services Limited (INTELS) have embarked on a protest at Eastern port of Onne Port and Warri Ports, crippling all economic activities.
Recall that the workers were in October declared redundant by INTELS, a development that warranted the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) to intervene and issued a 7-days ultimatum for the workers to be reinstated.
Speaking in Lagos on Wednesday, President General of MWUN, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju confirmed that some of the workers, especially those directly under INTELS were reabsorbed, while those under AMS were not.
This has caused the workers to down tools since Tuesday, even as the union instructed all its branches at the Eastern ports to join the strike action in order to make it total.
Adeyanju warned that the decision of the union to always embrace dialogue should not be taken as a weakness, even as he said that sentiments such us fear of EndSars protesters, peak period, festivities should not be brought into union demands.
“The workers of AMS have taken their destiny into their hands, what we observed yesterday was that the management of INTELS shut the gate against 500 workers at Onne Port, the matter has been lingering, recall that the workers were sacked, but we charged the management to call them back, the negotiations was still ongoing, but to our greatest surprise INTELS shut the gates against the workers”
“The union is giving the workers backing to continue the action.
They started from Warri and Onne”
“It is part of our obligation as a union leader to protect the welfare of our members, they are the principal employer of labour in that direction and AMS happens to be a subsidiary of INTELS, so what stops them from directing their subsidiary from complying? They are asking us to go and negotiate with AMS, but it is INTELS we know and not AMS”
“The agreement have not been concluded, we only signed that of workers under INTELS, but the workers under AMS, they asked us to go and negotiate with AMS, but we said No, because INTELS is the owner of AMS. When the workers at AMS saw what their counterparts are enjoying at INTELS, they protested”
“I have directed all our branches at outer ports to support the workers, the NPA branch, seafarers and dockworkers, they are all on the field singing the solidarity song we know how to sing” he said
