Most of the unrests that took place at that time were fuelled by bitterness as a result of general poor welfare package given to dockworkers including poor salary, poor retirement benefits as well as lack of guaranteed pension scheme.
For instance, in 2006, an average dockworker earned between N10, 000 to N20,000 per month, but today, research has shown that the payroll of Nigerian dockworkers has improved tremendously as many now earn between N100, 000 and N150, 000 per month.
Today, stoppage of ship operation has become a thing of the pass and dockworkers, who in the past rarely know their employers, now meet regularly with the leadership of the Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN).
The above listed developments were made possible by the unrelenting efforts of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) in partnership with terminal operators, maritime workers union and stevedoring companies.
NIMASA is statutorily empowered under section 27(1) (b) of NIMASA Act 2007 to facilitate the NJIC meetings, circulate signed agreements and ensure strict compliance on implementation. While NJIC is the body responsible for negotiating and reviewing of minimum standards for dock labour.
It was constituted in 2008 following the need to establish minimum standards for the dockworkers after the ports were concessioned in 2006.
As the Federal Government agency and a regulator saddled with responsibility of overseeing the wellbeing of dockworkers for healthy port operations, NIMASA facilitated the establishment of the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC) for dockworkers in Nigeria, as well as the recent signing of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), aimed at improving the welfare of dockworkers in line with international best practices.
The CBA provides for increase in wages, allowances, emoluments and benefits, including payment of redundancy and retirement benefits by terminal operators to aged dockworkers. It also covers payment of specified allowances to deceased dockworker’s next of kin and pension contribution scheme for dockworkers among others.
BusinessDay understands thatthe beauty of this new agreement is that dockworkers will now have retirement benefits. They would be gainfully employed and their retirement benefits, pension and gratuity would be paid by terminal operators.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in Lagos recently, Gambo Ahmed, chairman of the NJIC, who doubles as the executive director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services of NIMASA, said that dockworkers are the integral part of the maritime business, hence the need to prioritise their welfare.
Ahmed, who represented the director general, Dakuku Peterside, urged operators to put the welfare of the dockworkers’ into proper perspective in order to continue having healthy maritime sector and ensure robust economy.
In her view, Vicky Haastrup, chairman of the STOAN stated that without dockworkers, there will be no ports, because the workers play a major role in the development and growth of the economy of the ports.
“STOAN discovers that to have smooth operations in the port means to maintain good relationship with dockworkers that discharges the vessels – they are critical to our operations. It is important to us that they are well taken care of. We had the first requisition in 2008 and every two years, the stakeholders sit down to deliberate on how to improve the wellbeing of dockworkers,” she said.
According to her, the initiative has brought about understanding among stakeholders in the ports and also given room for peace and orderliness in the maritime sector.
“We must all work together to ensure that the interest of dockworkers are protected. It is a thing of joy to see that our dockworkers are doing well and getting compensated. We commend their leaders for the relationship with terminal operators,” she said.
She however assured that terminal operators will ensure that dockworkers are well compensated for services rendered.
On his part, Adewale Adeyanju, president general of the MWUN, said that with the supervision of NIMASA through the NJIC initiative; the industry is witnessing a new dawn even as he pleaded with all parties to endeavour to fulfill their obligations as contained in the CBA agreement.
He also pledged that the leaders of the Union will continue to ensure the sustenance of peace and harmony in the maritime sector in the interest of the sector and the Nigeria economy as a whole. The agreement, he said, means that the life of dockworkers in the nation’s seaport has come to stay.
“Twelve years after the port was concessioned to private operators, the seaport terminal operators have substantially increased the wages earned by dockworkers. We now enjoy better working conditions, compared to what obtained in the pre-concession era.
Adeyanju, who lauded terminal operators for increasing the wages of dockworkers in spite of the low volume of import in the country, listed issues of poor state of the port access road as one of the operational challenges facing business of terminal operators.
“The roads to the seaports have contributed to most of the problems that our members are facing today. Because of the bad roads, some of the vessels that are supposed to come to the port are sometimes diverted to neighbouring countries,” he decried.
Ibrahim Jibril, director, Maritime Labour Services of NIMASA, expressed that the agency believes that all parties will ensure full implementation of the agreement. This, he said, will help the Ease of Doing Business initiative of the Federal Government as well as improved turnaround time in port business.
AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE
