Adewale Adeyanju has called the shots as the President-General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria in the last eight years, negotiating new terms of welfare packages for maritime workers at the nation’s ports. In his farewell interview with selected maritime journalists, he speaks on how the last eight years has fared. Excerpts
Talking about welfare, can you bring us up to speed on where we are as regards the issue of Collective Bargaining Agreement CBA) of dockworkers?
When a union leader is elected into office, the first thing that comes to his mind is the welfare of his members because his election is a call to service. When we came onboard eight years ago, what we did was to look at the past experience of past leaders as regards welfare provisions for all the four branches of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN). In those days, the moment anybody is picked on the road and brought into the port, that person becomes a Dockworker. There were no rules, there was no standard back then. So, our reform had to start from the Dockworkers. We said no, lets change the narrative from the way people used to call Dockworkers then “Agbero”. That was what gave birth to the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) of the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC). Before then, it was the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) that was handling the Dockworkers welfare. But with the NJIC, that responsibility was transferred to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). As we speak, NIMASA is the Chairman of the NJIC which manages the CBA.
Also, in shipping, there was no standard. What we had before we came into office was a plan-by-plan negotiation for workers welfare. The employers can just wake up one morning to negotiate whatever they think is good for the shipping workers. So when we came into office, we introduced what we call ‘State of Emergency’ in the shipping sub-sector because the shipping companies were making so much profit but the workers were not well remunerated. That’s why today, we have what we call ‘Minimum Standard in Shipping’. Today, the take-home of workers in the shipping sector is N200,000. Before we came, it was N20,000 or in some cases, N30,000.
For the seafarers, they have their NJIC as well, both locally and internationally. As leaders of the Union, we have improved upon the welfare of the seafarers.
For the NPA branch, you all know the story of when the salaries and wages of the workers in NPA where not paid for almost 18 years. Because of this anomaly, we called a press briefing and threatened to take action. After our press briefing, the wages and salaries of NPA workers were reviewed. As I am talking to you now, the process of further reviewing the wages and salaries of the workers is on.
We have touched all the four branches of MWUN, but there is no way we would have been able to finish the job in eight years. That’s why someone else is set to continue from the foundation that we have laid.
What was your greatest challenge during your eight years tenure?
The first very big challenge that tested my resolve as MWUN President-General was the Harbours Bill of the NPA. As soon as I assumed office, we were all at the nation’s ports, clamoring for the cancellation of that Bill. The Bill had scaled second reading on the floor of the National Assembly. It was a tough one for us but with the support of everybody, we ensured that the Bill was killed. If the Bill had survived, there won’t have been any Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). What we suffered during the 2006 port concession where many port workers lost their jobs would have happened again. We had support from even the management of NPA and some stakeholders, and with that support, we ensured the Bill was not passed. Anybody that tries to wake up that Bill again will only try to mess up himself.
What will happen if your successor deviates from your master plan?
Of cause, we cannot rule that out. It can definitely happen. The best thing is for the former President to respect himself. I did not put somebody at the helms of affairs of MWUN in-order to rubber-stamp or control him. The person that put me here did not rubber stamp or control me. As a former President-General, you need to respect yourself. I am not even looking at such scenario happening because the sector is too volatile. The incoming President-General has too many issues on his table to contend with. The former President-General can only offer advice. The office is not a permanent office. The earlier you know you will leave one day, the better for everybody. My prayer for the incoming President-General is to do more than me, not me tele-guiding him on how to run the system.
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In all your achievements, which of them do you hold dear to heart?
The Dockworkers reform is one of them. The reform of the MWUN itself and the stability that everybody is enjoying today is also achievements I hold close to heart. I believe the incoming President-General will also toe our line. If the Union is behaving the way we used to behave before we came onboard, some of you won’t be able to sit here. When we were to take over this place that you people are sitting, we lost two of our members. That is to tell you why people tagged us “agbero” back then. That is to tell you where we are coming from. The condition of service that we have now, if we have had it in the past, we would have gone very far than this. It is not by banging tables that results are achieved. It is by sitting round a table with your employers and negotiating. We no longer enjoy creating violence or shutting down the ports. If we shut down the ports, what benefit will we get from that? Zero. As a responsible trade union, you just don’t shut down the ports anyhow. We are no longer strike mongers. The peace that the ports enjoy today is a major achievement I hold dear to heart.
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