Importers who had expected to clear imported cargoes at Nigeria’s largest container port terminal, APM Terminals, were on Wednesday disappointed as protesting dockworkers under the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) shut down the Lagos Port container terminals, crippling port operations at Nigeria’s premier port, Apapa port. This is even as efforts by the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), and the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) to salvage the situation refused to yield results as of the time of filing in this report.
Speaking to Tribune Online on the ongoing strike action, acting President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Dr Kayode Farinto, explained that even though APM Terminals, at the end of the strike, may waive accumulated storage charges due to the strike action, shipping companies won’t waive accumulated demurrage charges.
According to the ANLCA acting President, “It’s a pity that we had to get to this situation. There had been efforts to get APM Terminals to accede to the workers’ demand in recent times, but all have not been fruitful.
“Now, throughout today, no single container was moved out of the APM Terminals. Firstly, storage and demurrage charges are accumulating on those trapped cargoes.
“Secondly, the refusal of the workers to work will only further compound the congestion woes plaguing the Apapa ports.
“Thirdly, importers will at the end of the day pay those accumulated charges. Even if APM Terminals waive the storage charges, the foreign shipping companies won’t. They will collect every penny to the last before releasing those trapped cargoes.
“So you see that importers are always at the receiving end of any disruption to port operations. Many of the importers have been calling us to know how much they might have to add to their bills for charges that accumulated due to no fault of theirs. It’s such a pathetic situation.”
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Recall that when Nigerian Tribune got to the port gate earlier on Wednesday, journalists were not allowed into the Apapa port by security operatives due to the strike action taking place inside APM Terminals.
However, when our correspondent put a call through to the President-General of the MWUN, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, he said that if the management of the APM Terminals refuses to meet with the workers and find a solution to their demands, the port shutdown will continue.
Speaking exclusively to Tribune Online, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju said, “Our members have shut down APM Terminals, Apapa. All the examination offices inside the container terminal that are being used by officials of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) are currently under lock and key by our members.
“The agitation is connected to the refusal of the APM Terminals, Apapa management to review the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) of the workers which ought to be reviewed every year.
“It is an internal agreement between the workers and the terminal operator, but the terminal operator has refused to review the condition of service of the workers this year and that is why everywhere inside APM Terminals is currently under lock and key.
“The management of the APM Terminals has decided to be funny by not reviewing the condition of service of the workers. I am even going to address the workers very soon. If APM Terminals refuses to meet with us, then the shut down of port operations at APM Terminals, Apapa will continue.”
Confirming the lockout of Customs officers working inside APM Terminals in Apapa to Tribune Online, the Spokesman of the Apapa Customs Command of the NCS, Abubakar Usman explained that Customs officers are currently inside the ports but cannot access their examination offices because the workers have locked them up.
In the words of Abubakar Usman, “Our officials are inside the ports. They have not been locked out of the ports. However, their offices have been locked up by the protesting workers. If the officers cannot access their offices, there is no way they can perform any cargo clearance duty inside the port. Our men are there but are currently not working because of the protesting workers who have locked up all the cargo examination offices inside APM Terminals, Apapa.”
Further findings also revealed that the NPA and the NSC have started mounting pressure on the management of the APM Terminals, Apapa to find a lasting solution to the breakdown in port operations.
Disclosing this to Tribune Online, a port worker who wouldn’t want his name in print explained, “Since morning, no work has been done inside APM Terminals, Apapa.
“We heard that the NPA and NSC have called the terminal operator over the issue. Don’t know if anything has been resolved.”
Recall that the MWUN had recently issued a warning notice to APM Terminals over the refusal of the terminal operator to review the condition of service of port workers.
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