Due to the government’s refusal to address some of the issues in the sector, the Nigeria Labour Congress has threatened to close the country’s seaports.
During a courtesy visit to Adewale Adeyanju, President of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Joseph Ajaero, the President of the NLC, made these remarks to journalists on Friday in Apapa.
Ajaero demanded that Adeyanju give the Federal Government a deadline of two weeks to review worker salaries and address some industry issues.
He believes that the government ought to clarify who is in charge of reviewing the port concession agreements.
He added that the MWUN would not be held accountable for not having sufficient patience after waiting for two years.
He stated, “You wrote to the transportation minister in August 2021, and 2022 came and passed, and we are approaching August 2023.”
Give them an ultimatum of two weeks starting today, President, if that is even remotely possible. If not, they will call us, given Nigeria’s central maritime position, even in Africa. No one will work on anything that affects our employees.
“On this alone, labor has written since 2021, and it is now 2023. In my capacity as president of the NLC, I have absolutely no compassion for anyone working tirelessly for the benefit of our workers. President of the MWUN, you have the final say.
Send them a letter and close the country’s seaport when you make your decision.
Ajaero ordered the involved ministries, including the ministry of labor and transportation, to carry out their duties.
The NLC will join you if they do not act on this. He continued, “We are going to give you a solidarity action.”
Adeyanju, President of MWUN, responded, “We will be giving the Minister of Transportation an ultimatum of two weeks to come and explain who is regulating terminal operators.” Additionally, we will suspend port operations if nothing is done. I want to confirm that the ultimatum will begin on Monday, March 6, 2023, and thank you for giving us it. We will close the port if the government does not respond.”