Warri ports workers ground operations over controversial bill

In what can be described as highly successful, workers in Warri ports, on Tuesday, grounded operations at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) complex in Warri, Delta State.

The mass rally was in support of the call made by the various maritime unions to halt the bill to establish Ports and Harbour Commission which is being attended to by the National Assembly.

Movement in and out of the ports complex was halted during the rally.

The workers, under various banners including the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Senior Staff Association of the Nigerian Ports Authority, the Shippers Council in their hundreds, shut the gates of the NPA Warri.

Amid chants, the workers were armed with placards, some of which read, “Nigerians, reject Ports and Harbour Bill 2015 now”, “This bill will pull our nation down”, and “It is dangerous to place harbor operations in private hands, “in rejection of the contentious bill.

Vice President General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Chris Idagbon,  spoke to journalists during the really.

According to the labour leader, “Those who see themselves as bourgeoisies want to take food from the mouth of the poor.”

He argued that “There is nothing wrong with NPA as established by a 1955 Act as amended, but the National Assembly, through their cohorts, have decided to repeal that act and to establish the Ports and Harbour Commission to take over all the functions of NPA.

“They want to concession the harbor to private hands which, to us, is inimical to the country.

“One, this is the major place where the country earns her foreign exchange. If given to private hands, it is to the detriment of the country.

“Two, the security of the county would be at threat if this place is given out to private hands because this is where vessels come into the country. Nobody would be able to monitor what comes into the country.

“Thirdly, when the concess. ioning of the port terminals was done in the past, we were made to understand that these people, when they assume responsibility, were going to engage everybody that NPA was going to disengage, but after that concessioning, they could not engage even a thousand of the over 14, 000 persons NPA disengaged till today and all were left to the unemployment market.’

Idagbon added that: “Now, this bill is coming again and they want to deceive us that when established, there will be effectiveness and so on and so forth.

‘Till today, there is no value in the concessioning of the ports terminals that was not there during the time NPA undertook terminal operations.

“We are saying “no” to the Ports and Harbour Bill. We don’t want it; NPA should remain so that every Nigerian, myself, yourself and our children should have a place to work and earn their salaries.”

He described the one-day rally as peaceful, but a warning to the authorities to step down the bill.

After today, if nothing is done, we are going to shut down the whole country. By God’s special grace, we hope they will listen and something will be done. They know we elected them into that place, ” he warned.

Meanwhile, an executive of the Warri Zone of the Senior Staff Association of the Nigerian Ports Authority, who pleaded anonymity, said that the intent of the bill was at variance with the manifestoes of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) as regards job creation.

“The government of the day had promised us when coming into power that they were coming in to create jobs, not to cost Nigerians their jobs.

“They promised better work environment and better welfare package.

“Right now from what we are seeing in the proposed bill, they are out to renege on these promises and instead inflict pains of Nigerians who voted them in power.

“The privitisation process instituted in this country since 2005 has not yielded any meaningful dividends across sectors.

“These private hands who are usually foreign usually see to the displacement of Nigerians and inhuman treatment of those engaged why they repatriate our revenues abroad.

“We are peacefully asking the majority of Nigerians and the crop of credible leaders we have in the government of today to listen to the voice of reasoning.

“The ports harbours are doing well. The targeted private hands to take over our jobs are humans like us.

“The difference with government is that they place high premium on training and retraining for optimal capacity.

“They place high premium on facility upgrade. Any government aware that privatisation has never rewarded Nigerians would do well to improve welfare and capacity of those of us running the NPA, and the results can only get better, “he stated.