In view of the refusal of the Shipping Association of Nigeria (SAN) to set up a meeting with the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) to discuss the condition of service, the union said it will declare a strike action if SAN fails to meet their demands within the next 21 days.
Recall that MWUN had earlier threaten strike action if SAN refuses to meet the call of the union for a meeting to discuss and negotiate fresh conditions of Service to workers in the shipping sector.
President general of MWUN, told LEADERSHIP exclusively that he had complained about poor condition of service of workers in shipping sector saying an employee can be on a grade level for over 15 years.
But, in a press statement titled, “21 Days Notice To Convene A Meeting Of Association Of Shipping Employers And The Union To Review The subsisting Industry Condition Of Service,” made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday, the deputy secretary general, MWUN, Abudu Eroje said the union had enlisted the support of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) to shutdown the sector.
Eroje who decried the deplorable working condition of members of the branch said the workers are working in an impoverished condition.
He said, “In view of recent events affecting all our members in the shipping sector in Nigeria, we are constrained to bring to public space that having exhausted all legal and social means to get members of SAN to a round table discussion with representatives of MWUN at which means we had hoped that we find redress to the very inhumane, deplorable and slavish conditions our members are subjected to in their various work place.”
Having consistently ignored our myriad calls, Shippers Association of Nigeria and its members have conducted themselves in a manner which perpetually keeps our members in the Shipping Industry in penury and pain.
In most cases, they have been stagnated on one salary structure for over 20 years, worst wage structure, anti – union activities, burdensome tariff regimes etc. They have formed themselves into lords above and impervious to our National Laws breaching every rule of industrial relations thus, engendering a failure in our social partnership if that existed at all.”
Eroje however reiterated that the NLC who has given them enough backing had urged SAN to convene a meeting with MWUN within 21 days.
“We have reported SAN to the NLC – Our National Labour Centre, who have directed that in the interest of industrial peace in the Shipping Industry in Nigeria, albeit, Maritime Sector, that the SAN convene a meeting in the next twenty one (21) days with representatives of the Union.
“Please note that in the event of SAN’s non – compliance the Union will be constrained to declare a state of emergency in the Shipping sector,” he warned.