COVID-19: Maritime Workers Union Task NPA, Terminal Operators To Provide PPE For Workers

…Advises Workers Not to Lose their Guard Against 2nd Wave of Covid-19

By DAPO OLAWUNI

The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has warned that the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic is much more deadlier than the first, hence, it has called on Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) terminal operators and Federal Ministry of Health to provide necessary Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for workers.

President General of MWUN, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju made the call while speaking with DAILY TREND NEWS in Lagos last week.

Comrade Adeyanju also called on shipping companies and manning agents to do the needful and provide necessary kitting for Nigerian seafarers going onboard vessels, even as he described seafarers as the most endangered species of Covid-19 pandemic.

The unionist called on the Federal Ministry of Health to continue to be alive to its responsibilities at the port, especially in terms of quarantine for vessels calling at the various ports, while urging NPA to supervise and ensure that terminal operators maintain necessary precautions.

He said “The second wave of the Covid-19 is bad than the first one, we want to re-emphasise that the Ministry of Heath and the authorities concerned should awaken themselves by alerting all the terminal operators.
They should also put more energy and efforts in ensuring that terminal operators provide the necessary kitting and PPE’s for the workers in their terminals”

“It is very important that we dont sleep over this matter, if one of the workers contract the disease, we know what would happen to all the workers inside the port, not only the workers but other stakeholders operating at the port”

“So, the federal Ministry of Health should not sleep over this matter, and we want to appeal to the management of NPA to awaken the Ministry of Health as they have been doing before”

“Vessels coming into the port must continue to be quarantined as they were doing before”

“The seafarers are not left out, they are at the forefront of this war, and that is why I said it last time that some of them are floating prisoners, they do not see their families for several months, so we don’t want any of our seafarers to be caught up with this second wave of Covid-19” he said

Comrade Adeyanju recalled that the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) had last year provided palliative and PPE’s for the union and all seafarers.
He said the union would approach the ITF again for its usual supports, even as he said that ITF are now in Nigeria for a project called “MAS Project” for Nigerian seafarers.

“The ITF are in Nigeria, they are here for the MAS Project which has commenced, and they are aware of the second wave of the Pandemic, we are going to be updating them as things unfold” he said