NIMASA DG calls for contributory pension scheme for dockworkers

On Thursday, the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Bashir Jamoh, urged employers of labour to ensure that all dockworkers at the ports are enrolled in the contributory pension scheme.

The NIMASA DG stated this while delivering his welcome address during the ‘Day of the Dockworker’ event held in Lagos by the agency in collaboration with the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN).

With the theme of the event being “Healthy Dockworkers, Better Productivity,” it was an opportunity for stakeholders gathered to not just appreciate the efforts of Nigerian dockworkers at the centre of the nation’s import-dependent economy but also to focus on ways of improving their health and general well-being.

The NIMASA DG, while speaking, also emphasised the need for operators of oil and gas terminals to allow only approved stevedores aboard their installations to ensure compliance with relevant international guidelines and conventions.

According to Dr Jamoh, “As we celebrate today, it is important to put in perspective the plight of dockworkers who spend the greater part of their working lives at the ports, with little or nothing to show for it.

As employers of labour, you must endeavour to put in place a Contributory Pension Scheme for dockworkers and ensure prompt remittances of both employer and employee contributions at the end of each month.”

Speaking on compliance with stevedore inspections, he stated, “This occasion presents me with an opportunity to express the need for operators in the private jetties and oil and gas terminals to grant operational access to the stevedoring contractors appointed by the Honourable Minister of Transport to carry out stevedoring activities in assigned operational areas.”

On his part, the President General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, thanked the NIMASA Management for organising the event to celebrate Nigerian dockworkers in recognition of the important role played by them.

In attendance at the event were representatives from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, the Nigerian Ports Authority, the Seaport Terminal Operators Association, and the National Association of Stevedoring Operators (NASA).

Internationally, July 7th is marked as ‘The Global Day of Action’ and is organized by the International Dockworkers’ Council (IDC) and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF). It aims to raise awareness of port working conditions and emphasise the importance of collective bargaining rights.

“Recall that the Shipping Correspondent Association of Nigeria (SCAN) organised the inaugural edition of the Dockworkers Day in September, 2023”.

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