Industrial Unrest Looms Over Planned Sack of 3,000 Ports Workers

 

Mounting restiveness in the nation’s Ports following alleged approval by the Minister of Transportation, Chief Rotimi Amaechi, for the sack of no fewer than 3000 dockworkers.

Surprised by the alleged approval, the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, yesterday, threatened to shut down the Ports operations and called on the Minister to immediately state the true position before things went out of hand.

The union lamented that the report almost triggered simultaneous reaction by ports workers across the country, but for personal intervention by the President General of the Union, Mr. Nted Anthony Emmanuel.

MWUN accused the management of Nigeria Ports Authority, NPA, of being the brain behind the reports for its known agenda to secure the illegal engagement of cargoes surveyors.

The leadership of the union has already written to the Minister of Transportation, over the matter to avert looming industrial unrest in the ports.

In a statement by the Secretary General of the Union, Mr. Aham Ubani, the union said it condemned in totality the report that the Minister had given NPA the nod to sack Tally Clerks, Onboard Security members of the union, insisting no such decision was made by Minister of Transportation at the stakeholders meeting held on January 20, 2016 at the conference room of the Ministry of Transportation, Abuja.

According to the statement, “on continuation of the service, the dockworkers engaged in Tallying and Onboard Security Services, which is the primary area of interest of the union, the Minister promised to report both the labour position and the NPA intension to the Head of State for final decision/directive.

”The news report of the approval which was planted by the Management of NPA to fast track/to hoodwink the Transport Minister into taking hasty anti-workers decision is certainly not in the interest of our country and is indeed a direct assault on the prevailing industrial peace in our Seaports nationwide.”