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Tag: MWUN

  • Maritime workers may paralyse ports today over storage charges

    Maritime workers may paralyse ports today over storage charges

    The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) may embark on industrial action today over plans by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) to reverse storage charges at the seaports.

    In a letter with reference number MWUN/HMT/FMT/WDR/360 dated November 10, this year and sent to the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, the union said it was “alarmed that an institution with or without known legal authority to perform the duties of Port Regulator could evolve such biased directive targeting terminal operationals costs alone with dire consequences on our member’’.

    The letter signed by the union’s Secretary-General, Comrade Aham Ubani, said the council’s directive on the reduction of storage charges at the seaports would affect the welfare of dockworkers and hamper port efficiency.

    He accused the council of not consulting with relevant stakeholders on the implication of its directive before issuing it.

    The union said it would be wrong to blame the high cost of doing business at the seaports on the terminal operators.

    According to the MWUN, poor access roads to the port which gives rise to higher cost of trucking goods in and out of the ports; presence and practice of illegal tolls/extortions by various agencies operating in the ports both legally and illegally; activities of some customs men and officers which also add to the operational cost of ports; effect of congestion giving rise to demurrage and additional increase on the cost of clearing goods in the port; and delays in effecting custom examination and the attitude of most customs officers as lords who must be worshipped by agents rather than serving the needs of the customers as diligent civil servants all contribute to the high cost of doing business at the nation’s seaports.

    “The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria feels seriously aggrieved by the consequences of your directive as manifest in the refusal of our employers (i.e. Terminal Operators and Stevedoring Contractors) to negotiate the Dockworkers Condition of Service which is due for re-negotiation this year.

    “Our members have become restive and may resort to self-help action nationwide with effect from Monday, November 17 if the terminal operators still refuse to negotiate on the grounds of being incapacitated by the directive.

    “While humbly soliciting the Honourable Minister’s prompt intervention on this issue, we by copy of this letter to Shippers’ Council demand for immediate withdrawal of this biased directive to allow for search for a collective solution to the issue,”  he said,

    MWUN said its demand has become necessary to avert avoidable crisis at the ports.

  • Maritime workers to down tools over tariff reversal

    Maritime workers to down tools over tariff reversal

    Ports Operations will be shut down from next Monday, if the Federal Government fails to withdraw its directive to terminal operators to revert to their 2009 tariff, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has warned.

    The union noted that following the directive, terminal operators and Stevedoring contractors refused to negotiate dockworkers’ condition of service, which is due for re-negotiation this year.

    The union, in a petition to the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umaru, dated November 10, and signed by its Secretary-General, Mr. Aham Ubani,  said: “Our attention has been drawn to the recent directive from Shippers’ Council to seaport terminal operators instructing them to revert to their 2009 tariff as a panacea to achieving an acceptable lower overall cost of doing business in our sea ports.”

    The petition titled: “Demand for Withdrawal of Shippers Council’s Directive on Reversion of Sea Port Terminals Charge Tariff to 2009 Rate” copy of which was made available to The Nation, read in part: “We acknowledge the need to make our seaports less expensive as one of the critical factors in making our ports the preferred ports within the sub-region. We, however, wish to observe that the prevailing high cost of doing business in our ports needs to be addressed holistically if the desired goal is to be achieved in its entirety.”

    Ubani noted that the under listed cost factors need to be addressed realistically. The petition listed poor access roads to the port, which gives rise to higher cost of trucking goods in and out of the ports, presence and practice of illegal tolls/extortions by various agencies operating in the ports both legally and illegally, activities of some customs men and officers as adding to the operational cost of ports.

    It also decried the effect of congestion, which gives rise to demurrage and additional increase on the cost of clearing goods in the port, as well as delay in effecting custom examination and the attitude of most customs officers, who act as lords who must be worshipped by agents rather than serving the needs of the customers as diligent civil servants, among others.

    “We are alarmed that an institution with or without known legal authority to perform the duties of port regulator could evolve such biased directive targeting terminal operations costs alone with dire consequences on our members–the Dockworkers and operational efficiency without informed consultation with relevant stakeholders on all the above elements and their cost burden implications on the seaports,” the Union said.

    MWUN noted the non-consideration of the present customers price index and current rate of inflation, saying that they felt aggrieved by the consequences of the directive as manifested in the refusal of employers (i.e. terminal operators and stevedoring contractors) to negotiate the dockworkers condition of service, which is due for re-negotiation this year.

    “Our members, the dockworkers, have become restive and may resort to self-help nation wide with effect from Monday 17th November, if the terminal operators still refuse to negotiate on the grounds of being incapacitated by the directive,” the Union said.

  • Rice on the menu

    Predictably, rice will be on the menu in many homes across the country this first day of the New Year. Generally regarded as food for celebratory occasions by a good number of Nigerians, it will be served in a variety of forms, particularly the popular Jollof rice and Fried rice. However, as rice eaters enjoy their food, it is pertinent to highlight the brewing storm related to the Federal Government’s recently announced plan to stop the importation of rice by 2015 as part of efforts to ensure sufficiency in local production.

    Remarkably, two concerned groups lately added their voices to protest from various quarters, urging the government to review the policy in the interest of the country’s economy. The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) and the Seaports Terminal Operators of Nigeria (STOAN) in separate statements argued against the implementation of the policy, stressing that the authorities appeared to be too much in a hurry without adequate planning for its success.

    According to MWUN, the announcement of the policy’s take-off time has increased smuggling, leading to high market penetration by uncontrolled poor-quality rice with negative health implications for the people. The group’s President General, Mr. Anthony Nted, and General Secretary, Mr. Aham Ubani, said in a December 27, 2013, letter addressed to President Goodluck Jonathan, “The policy on importation of rice has made it difficult for genuine rice importers to bring in their products through our ports. The effect is that revenue accruing to the nation is lost to neighbouring countries and some Nigerians who genuinely work in the ports are also denied their livelihood.”

    On its part, STOAN spokesman, Mr. Bolaji Akinola claimed that the country was losing N1 billion daily to the subsisting policy on rice importation and the consequent high-level smuggling. “Before January 2013, rice importers paid 60 per cent duty, but when duty was increased to 110 per cent, importers shunned Nigerian ports for neighbouring countries, “ he said, adding that smugglers brought the same rice into the country illegally.

    Of course, it is relevant to ask: Where is the Minister for Agriculture, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, who regularly boasts about “a revolution in rice production” and “the rice transformation strategy to make Nigeria self-sufficient in rice by 2015”? Whatever may be the merits of the government’s plan to make the country less import-dependent, it is clear that there are inevitable issues arising from the idea, which just won’t go away and should be addressed with all sense of responsibility.

    It is one of the tragic wonders of Nigeria that, according to Adewunmi’s figures, it “has 84 million hectares of land of which no more than 40 per cent is cultivated.” Obviously, among the reasons for this agricultural under-development must be not only the wrong and wrong-headed priorities of successive administrations, but also their lop-sided and short-sighted focus on oil, the country’s main revenue earner. Ironically, perhaps oil is also the bane of the country.

    Certainly, it won’t be enough to ban rice importation only to encourage local production of rice that falls short of the quality of imported rice. The challenge of ensuring that locally produced rice meets consumer standards of acceptability is a major one, and it would amount to a denial of the people’s right to the best if the official restriction merely helps to impose undesirable sub-standard products in the name of home-grown rice.

    Furthermore, it is unclear whether local production, even where it enjoys consumer acceptance, would be adequate for consumer demand. In another apparent instance of grandstanding, Adesina asserted, “We have every natural endowment to be a major exporter of rice… At least, we should be exporting rice to all of West Africa after we have met our own self-sufficiency requirement.” Evidently, this is easier said than done.

  • Maritime workers fault ban on rice, car importation

    Maritime workers fault ban on rice, car importation

    THE Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), has advised the Federal Government to review its planned policy on importation of rice.

    This was contained in a letter dated December 27 and addressed to President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The letter, signed by the union’s President General, Mr. Anthony Nted, and the General Secretary, Mr. Aham Ubani, said the review would also reduce smuggling of the commodity.

    According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the government recently announced plan to stop the importation of rice by 2015 as part of efforts to ensure sufficiency in local production.

    The union said that many vessels conveying rice to Nigerian ports had been diverted to ports of neighbouring countries during the festive season due to the announcement.

    “The policy on importation of rice has made it difficult for genuine rice importers to bring in their products through our ports. The effect is that revenue accruing to the nation is lost to neighbouring countries and some Nigerians who genuinely work in the ports are also denied their livelihood,” MWUN said.

    The workers said that they were excited by the Federal Government’s desire to make the country self-sufficient and less import-dependent but stressed that adequate plan must be put in place.

    The union said that due to the announcement, smuggling had increased and poor quality of rice had found their way into the markets as they were not controlled.

    The workers said that inferior rice was not fit for human consumption because of its health implication and effects on the economy.

    The union said the new tariff and levies on vehicles were too hasty as they would have negative implication on jobs and revenue.

    The workers said that 95 per cent of Nigerians who worked in Roll On/Roll Off (RORO) terminal were specifically meant to handle imports and exports of vehicles.

    The union advised government to create the enabling environment for vehicles to either be manufactured or assembled in Nigeria.

    “There should be local production of vehicles spare parts, steady power supply and necessary infrastructure,” MWUN said

    The union contended that the policy, if reviewed, would enhance vehicle clearance at the ports and create jobs for maritime workers.

    The Seaports Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN) added its voice, urging the Federal Government to review the policy on rice imports in the interest of the nation’s economy.

    The spokesman for STOAN, Mr Bolaji Akinola, said Nigeria was losing N1billion daily to the subsisting policy on rice importation and the attendant high level smuggling.

    “Before Jan. 2013, rice importers paid 60 per cent duty, but when duty was increased to 110 per cent, importers shunned Nigerian ports for neighbouring countries”’, Akinola said.

    He said that vessels bearing rice had been going to neighouring ports where they were paying far less duty and the smugglers ended up bringing the same rice into the country illegally,

    Akinola said the announcement had affected the revenue of the Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

  • Labour Minister stops maritime workers’ strike

    The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, has averted crisis at the port by stopping the maritime workers’planned strike.

    He met with the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to avert the strike.

    The union was planning to shut down the seaports.

    The workers under the dockworkers branch are protesting alleged 13 months unpaid salaries of tally clerks on board security men.

    Sources at the meeting said the NPA requested for time to study the cost implication of the workers’ demand.

    Speaking with The Nation, the President of MWUN, Comrade Tony Nted Emmanuel, said if not for the minister’s intervention, the union had concluded plans to shut operations in all ports.

    He said NPA has agreed to pay the aggrieved workers.

    He said the cargo surveyors, which NPA brought allegedly in to supplant members of the union, are unacceptable and represents an attempt to deceitfully take over the job of the dockworkers.

    “Right from the time of Joint Dock Labour Industrial Council and the Joint Maritime Labour Industrial Council, the status and responsibilities of dockworkers have always been spelt out,” he said.

    Emmanuel vowed that the MWUN would not relent until the tally clerks and the-on-board security  are paid their salary arrears, which according to him, would be 13 months at the end of the month.

    “On-board security men are involved in watching over cargo to avoid theft and over boarding and to prevent unauthorised shore leave through the gangway by crew members. Their function also helps to prevent attack of vessels in the ports by terrorist and pirates in line with requirement of the ISPS code on port and ship security and safety and that is the reason their salary arrears must be paid,” he said.