The Nigerian Maritime Administration
and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on Thursday said that it is willing to pay the
terminal benefits of Seafarers based on the N100 million it had offered
Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) to settle the matter.
NIMASA and MWUN have therefore,
begun discussions on how to resolve the lingering issue of terminal benefits of
Seafarers whose appointments were terminated due to the liquidation of the
defunct Nigerian National Shipping Line, NNSL.
The Director General of NIMASA,
Dr Bashir JamohOFR, and the Vice President of the Nigerian Labour Congress who
is also the President General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Comrade
Adewale Adeyanju, jointly announced an agreement for physical verification of
the affected seafarers/next of kin as the case may apply; the nature of
appointment of all affected seafarers, and the exact amount due each
beneficiary.
The NIMASA DG also assured the
Union that their position will be communicated to the Ministry of Marine and
Blue Economy, to ensure Government takes all necessary actions to bring to a
conclusion, the issue of NNSL.
“The issue of industrial harmony
in the maritime sector is of uttermost interest to our administration at
NIMASA. We have been at this for a while. NIMASA had offered 100 million naira
as settlement, which the Union declined. We have also discovered that some of
those demanding settlement did not even have any employment letter. We will
follow the lead from our supervising Ministry and ensure the physical
verification exercise is brought to a logical conclusion. Our Honorable
Minister will be duly updated by the Agency. I look forward to closing this
issue in months to come," Jamoh said.
On his part, the President
General, Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN) Comrade Adeyanju restated
the commitment of the Union to peaceful resolution of disputes; to ensure the
rights and privileges of workers are well protected, without disrupting productivity
in the Maritime Sector.
He commended the Jamoh led
Management at NIMASA,urging others to follow suit.
“I will like to commend NIMASA
under Dr Jamoh, for the unflinching commitment to industrial harmony. He is
always a phone call away to resolve any issue. Yes, NIMASA offered 100 million
naira to offset the terminal benefits. However, if others like Nigerian Ports
Authority, Nigerian Shippers Council and the rest also add funds, there will be
enough to go round the expected beneficiaries. As we did for dockworkers when a
flat rate of two hundred thousand was paid during port concession; that is what
we want, putting into consideration the realities on ground now,” he said.
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