COVID-19: Union ‘ll resist attempt to sack maritime workers

...As MWUN, ITF distribute PPE to Seafarers, Dockworkers

By Ezurike Ugochukwu

The Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has said it would resist any attempt by employers of labour in the maritime industry hide under the guise of Coronavirus to sack any of its members at this point in time.

The President General, MWUN Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, stated this during the formal launching of sensitization and distribution of COVID-19 preventive to seafarers in collaboration with the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) in Lagos.

Adeyanju

He said that rather than thinking of sack, employers of labour in the industry should be think of palliative incentives to seafarers aboard ships in the sea.

“We will rely on the Collective Bargaining Agreement that we have with them, the Labour Law is there. They cannot just downsize our members, we will go back to the CBA that we signed with them,” he said.

The Labour leader stated that most of the essential workers (Seafarers) who stay up to three to six months on board vessels have nobody to take care of them, hence the need for their employers to add palliative incentives to their salaries.

“The stand of the Nigerian Labour Congress is our stand too. We will resist any attempt by any employer to hide under the guise of COVID-19 to sack our members.

“What we are saying is that palliative incentive should be added to the salaries of seafarers who have become floating prisoners because the duration they stay there, nobody takes care of them.

Port workers trying to locate a berthing rope

The union therefore called on the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to use its position as regularly agency to prevail on the employers of Labour in the industry to provide palliative for seafarers in the country.

However worried about stranded Seafarers worldwide and trending crew change, the union embarked on the distribution of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to members and foreign crew in all the ports in Nigeria.

The projects being the first time the two agencies of MWUN and ITF are  jointly carrying out in Nigeria and West Africa, even as he added that the Union looked forward to more of such progressive activities.

Comrade Adeyanju stressed that the crusade was necessary to prevent further spread of the pandemic.and safeguard seafarers who in the face on the global pandemic are providing essential services to ensure that the economy keeps running

He said, “Comrades, our focus as a union in this dire time is first and foremost the protection of lives and prevent further spread of the COVID-19 in the seaports and amongst our members, the seafarers.
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“our programme involving the distribution of safety palliative to seafarers such as hand sanitisers, hand gloves, face masks, infrared thermometers etc in all ports starting with Lagos ports today and moving on to other ports such as Calabar, Port Harcourt, Onne, Warri, Bonny others next week,” he stated.