Terminal operators at the Nigerian seaports have increased the salaries of dockworkers by 60 per cent. This was even as the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) called for strict implementation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed between the union and terminal operators.
Speaking at the signing of the agreement supervised by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the president – general of the union, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, said some terminal operators may not want to implement the agreement.
The CBA which was signed on behalf of terminal operators by the Seaports Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN) had led to 60 per cent increment in the salary of dock workers.
Adeyanju said, “Some of the terminal operators who doesn’t have the love of workers at hearts and the agreement we had with stakeholders may not want to implement it so that was why i asked NIMASA to ensure that the agreement is effectively implemented.”
Adeyanju, who further expressed appreciation to the terminal operators for signing the agreement to improve dock workers’ welfare despite the economic situation affecting the operators, said the signing of the agreement would translate to a 60 per cent increase in the wages of dockworkers and would also entitle them to terminal and retirement benefits.
He said, “In the past, we don’t know our employers but the beauty of this new agreement show that there is a structure coming to the port where a dock worker will have retirement and terminal benefits being borne by the terminal operators and not the stevedoring contractors. I want to appreciate all the terminal operators for this wonderful gesture that they render,” he said.
He also commended NIMASA for supporting the course of the union and for creating harmonious working relationship between the terminal operators and MWUN.
Also speaking, executive director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services of NIMASA, who is also the chairman of the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC), Gambo Ahmed, urged the terminal operators to ensure full implementation of the agreement in order to sustain the already existing peace and industrial harmony in the industry.
Source: Leadership