The incumbent President-General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Adewale Adeyanju, will step down by March 2025, bringing an end to eight years of purposeful leadership of the Union. In this report, TOLA ADENUBI looks at the tasks ahead of whoever takes over as PG in March. Excerpts
Since his election in March 2017, Adewale Adeyanju has taken maritime unionism to an enviable height, bringing succor to many port workers while keeping terminal operators and government agencies on their toes as it relates to welfare of port workers.
From negotiating for a Condition of Service for dockworkers to the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) which is mid-wifed by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Adewale Adeyanju’s eight years in office will always be remembered for putting port workers first in its negotiations with operators and regulatory government agencies.
However, many issues are still yearning for attention as the Deputy National President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) bows out from MWUN come March 2025.
Minimum wage issue
In August 2024, the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy mid-wived the signing of a N200,000 Minimum Wage agreement between maritime workers under the aegis of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) and members of the Shipping, Shipping Agencies, Clearing and Forwarding Employers Association (SSACFEA).
The agreement, which drew widespread commendations, brought an end to over two decades of agitation for a minimum wage standard for shipping company workers in Nigerian ports.
One month after the signing of the agreement, Messrs. Hull Blyth, one of the shipping companies operating at the Nigerian ports wrote to the MWUN, distancing itself from the N200,000 Minimum Wage Agreement.
The shipping company in a letter to the MWUN leadership said that the decision by SSACFEA to agree with a N200,000 minimum wage was not binding on it. Hull Blyth stated that it is not a member of the employers association and therefore is not covered by the agreement reached between the Union and the Shipping, Shipping Agencies, Clearing and Forwarding Employers Association (SSACFEA).
In a swift response, the MWUN described Messrs. Hull-Blyth Nigeria Limited’s claim of not being a member of SSACFEA as erroneous, warning that it is imperative for all shipping employers to comply with the agreement signed in August, in-order for peace to reign in the nation’s shipping sub-sector.
According to the MWUN letter which was signed by the Union Secretary General, Felix S. Akingboye, and addressed to the Managing Director of Messrs. Hull-Blyth Nigeria Limited, “I am directed to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated September 27 on the above subject and to express the Union’s dissatisfaction over your claim that your company, Messrs. Hull-Blyth is not a member of the Employers Association and therefore not covered by the agreement reached between the Union and the Shipping, Shipping Agencies, Clearing and Forwarding Employers Association (SSACFEA).
“We regard this claim as erroneous as all along, Messrs. Hull-Blyth Nig. Ltd. has been a member of the Shipping Association of Nigeria (SAN) which now metamorphosed into SSACFEA.
“However, the industry minimum wage agreement signed by MWUN and SSACFEA sets a baseline for fair and just condition of service for the shipping sector and It is imperative for all shipping employers to comply with the provisions contained therein.”
Two months to the expiration of the Adeyanju led-MWUN leadership, Messrs. Hull Blyth has still not complied with the N200,000 Minimum Wage agreement, checks by the Nigerian Tribune has revealed.
However, impeccable sources close to the MWUN leadership revealed that the union has decided to leave the issue for the incoming executive that will be elected given the short time left for it in office.
“Our President-General has decided to leave on a peaceful note, that is why the issue of Messrs. Hull Blyth refusing to comply with the N200,000 Minimum Wage agreement has not led to port shutdown or agitation. When another leadership take over in March, the matter will be confronted totally,” the source told the Nigerian Tribune.
Biometric id card
In-order to reduce the menace of crime and cargo pilfering at the nations ports, NIMASA launched the electronic registration platform for maritime labour and the issuance of Biometric Identity Cards to Dockworkers.
NIMASA described the e-platform as a major step towards attaining full automation of all its processes, adding that it was conceived out of the need to establish an independent, robust, integrated information, verification and communication platform that would serve as a system database generation on maritime labour in Nigeria.
However, two years since the launch of the Biometric ID Cards, many dockworkers stationed outside Lagos were yet to be captured under the e-platform.
Lamenting recently about the exclusion of dockworkers in the Eastern ports of the country from the biometric scheme, Adeyanju, during the 2nd Quadrennial Delegates Conference held in Lagos and put together by the Nigeria Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association (NMNOWTSSA), expressed disappointment over management of NIMASA delay on the Issuance of biometric to the dockworkers aside Lagos seaports.
Adeyanju also noted that operations of dockworkers were not limited to Lagos seaports, adding that what is good for the goose is good for the gander, therefore government must begin the verification exercise to authenticate dockworkers outside Lagos.
He reiterated, “We have a lot of demand from government mostly those grey areas. For example, the biometric identity cards have not be issued to the dockworkers outside Lagos.
“We want the Director General of NIMASA to address this issue of biometric identity cards for our members that are not based in Lagos.”
With the lifespan of the current MWUN leadership running out in two months, the mandate to ensure that the dockworkers based outside Lagos get captured on the biometric registration scheme now surely lies on the shoulders of whoever succeeds Adewale Adeyanju as President-General.
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Safety lapses at seaports
Tragedy struck on 2024 Christmas Day at the Five Star Logistics Terminal when a Liebherr Crane crushed a dockworker onboard the vessel MSC Samu, killing the port worker instantly.
Speaking during an inspection of the incident, Comrade Adeyanju, blamed the dockworker’s death on negligence by the terminal operator and the stevedoring contractor.
“I visited the terminal to pay a condolence visit, and what I saw was disheartening. There are several death traps inside Five Star Logistics Terminal, and I wouldn’t be surprised if more workers are injured or killed while working.
“Stevedoring is not factory work; it is a global profession with standards. In other countries, workers are well cared for, but here, it’s not the same. You have a vessel that requires close to 50 to 60 men working, yet there is only one supervisor onboard overseeing them. How can the supervisor monitor activities at the front, middle, and back simultaneously? Is he a robot?
“I was furious with the management of the company because this is an anti-labor practice. I discovered many workers were wearing bathroom slippers instead of safety boots. Many were not wearing overalls or helmets. This is unacceptable.
“The terminal has two supervisors responsible for managing the Liebherr Crane, but neither was on duty. This is pure negligence,”
With the Christmas Day incident quickly forgotten, the onus will lie on the incoming President-General of MWUN to ensure that terminal operators keep to safety rules and ensure such tragedy does not repeat itself.
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