MWUN to govt: end casualisation

By Muyiwa Lucas

The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Shipping and Freight Forwarding Branch, has  urged the Federal Government and National Assembly to caution shipping line agencies over downsizing of workers.

The body also disclosed that in the last six years, there had been massive job loss of workers in the su- sector, hence the need for the government to put the multinationals in check.

The union’s President-General, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, who had earlier issued a 21-day ultimatum to shipping firms over poor remuneration of workers, also reaffirmed the Union’s commitment to ensuring that the port corridors are free from gridlock. He urged the conglomerates to acquire holding bays and parking lots in order to encourage easy movement of vehicles.

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But in a renewed efforts to draw the attention of the Federal Government and lawmakers to their plight, the National President, Shipping and Courier Branch, MWUN, Ekpeyong Etim Ekpeyong, urged lawmakers to expedite actions on the passage of the bill that would stop outsourcing and employment of contract workers into law for the betterment of the citizens. “We pray that the bill should sail through because the shipping sub sector has not benefitted in this regards. What the principals are doing now is to come to Nigeria and do business without regard for workers and the indigenous managers are not helping the issues because of selfish interest,” he said.

Ekpeyong also frowned at the lacklustre attitude of the shipping lines to respond to issues affecting workers, adding that the union will not take it likely at the expiration of the 21- day ultimatum. He alleged that the conglomerates are majorly concerned about profit making and not to better the lots of workers, pointing out that the employees are not carried along in the area of welfarism.

Ekpeyong lamented that despite the huge investment on infrastructure, the shipping conglomerates are basically concerned on how to maximise profit and not to improve on workers welfare. He however admitted that the shipping line agencies have improved in the area of training and re-training of employees, but added that remuneration of workers have not been encouraging in the last six years.