The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has assured stakeholders in the industry of its commitment in ensuring that a friendly working environment is created at the ports.
The Head, Corporate Communications Team of NIMASA, Mr Isichei Osamgbi, said the Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services of the Agency, Mr Gambo Ahmed, gave the assurance in a statement made available to newsmen on Friday in Lagos.
He said that such a commitment would facilitate maritime trade and investment to grow the nation’s economy.
Ahmed gave the commitment at the signing of the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC) agreement for dockworkers between the terminal operators and Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) at the NIMASA headquarters in Lagos.
The executive director, who is also the Chairman of the NJIC said, “There is the need for understanding between the workers and employers in the industry, most especially during this period of economic recession where everyone needs to be accommodating”.
Also speaking at the event, the Chairperson of Seaports Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN), Mr Vicky Haastrup, commended NIMASA for midwifing the processes that ensured that peace and harmony existed among stakeholders in the ports.
“Nigeria has never had it so good. The atmosphere in and around the ports has made it so conducive for everyone to carry out his or her business and this is because NIMASA has always brought the issue of welfare of dockworkers to the front burner,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quotes Haastrup as saying.
The President-General, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Mr Anthony Nted, said that NIMASA should be commended for the harmonious working relationship between terminal operators and workers in the ports.
Nted said MWUN was willing to abide by the signed agreement.
The event was concluded with the presentation of a brand new Toyota Hiace bus to MWUN by NIMASA to enhance inspection of terminals by the union.
While handing over the bus to the union, Ahmed urged the leadership of the union to impress on its members to be law abiding and assured them of the unflinching support of the government to ensure fairness in the industry.
The newly-signed agreement which is for a period of two years is intended to ensure industrial peace in the industry as it encompasses fair treatment of dockworkers.
The agreement would ensure that every employee gets an employment letter and a package as terminal benefits when their contract expires, which has not been the case in recent past with some operators.
As part of the agency’s commitment to the welfare of maritime workers and in line with global best practices, the Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Dakuku Peterside, recently said that “no dockworker in all the seaports in the country will be short changed’’. (NAN)
AIC/AJA