Maritime Workers Union suspends strike

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Mr Adeyanju Adewale, National President, Dock workers Union, at Apapa port on Wednesday

Mr Francis Bunu, President of the Seafarers Group, during the strike at Apapa port.

The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has called off the
strike action it embarked upon at the nation’s ports on Wednesday.

Mr Adeyanju Adewale, the National President of
Dockworkers confirmed on Thursday that the union had suspended the strike after
a meeting with management of the Nigerian Ports Authority(NPA).

He said the union was hopeful of a positive outcome of the meeting
as the NPA promised to get back to it at the close of business today.

Mr Hakeem Lawal, Head of Tally Clerks and On-board security workers, at the Apapa port during the strike

Mr Francis Bunu, President of the seafarers group at the ports, also
confirmed that the strike had been suspended.

He said the union held a close-door meeting with management of the
NPA on Wednesday to discuss the issues that led to the strike.

“We held a meeting with NPA yesterday and we hope for a fruitful
outcome.

“We have only suspended the strike pending the outcome of our requests
before the NPA,” Bunu said.

Meanwhile, Mr Musa Iliya, an Assistant-General Manager, Public
Affairs of the NPA, said that the
meeting with the striking union workers was still on.

He said the NPA management had decided to address the issues
conclusively, to avoid a re-occurrence of such action.

“The management of the Nigerian Ports Authority held talks with
the maritime workers union yesterday and hope to address the issues raised.

“The management wants to ensure that this is handled thoroughly,
to avoid this kind of situation again,” Iliya said.

It would be recalled that the dock workers at the nation’s ports
embarked on a strike on Wednesday after a 21-day ultimatum it gave to the NPA to
address issues affecting its members.

Adewale had disclosed that the strike action resulted from issues
concerning the non-payment of salaries of members of the union, and welfare of
the NPA staff.

The union also claimed that the NPA had planned to take away the
jobs of onboard tally clerks and security and had failed to pay their salaries
in the last six months.

Bunu had warned that the
Federal Government should look into the matter to avoid a total shutdown of the
nation’s ports by the striking dock workers.

He advised government to leverage on the potential of the maritime
industry to creating employment and sustaining the nation’s economy.

Mr Hakeem Lawal, head of the Tally Clerks and On-board Security
workers, said the issue had dragged on for long and that the action was the
only way to make the NPA management listen to the union.

He alleged that the NPA management never kept to its agreement,
even as he expressed fears over the possibility of the payment of their
salaries.