Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria to embark on industrial action over poor access roads to Ports
The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has declared its resolution to embark on a strike soon, if the port access roads remain in their dilapidated state.
President- General of the Union, Adewale Adeyanju, told newsmen that the state of the roads to the ports had left untold hardship on members of the Union, who like other workers in the port city suffer, long hours in the unending Apapa traffic.
Adeyanju lamented the conditions of the road leading to the Tin-can Island Port as commuters spend long hours on the road or have to resort to walking as even motorbikes find it difficult to
ply the road.
ply the road.
He said that the Union had suspended its industrial action the last time because of the promise that the roads would be fixed, but that the construction work had taken a rather slow pace than
imagined.
imagined.
He said: “If you remember vividly, we only suspended the strike action the last time, and the way things are going now, we may be forced to resume the ultimatum and commence our strike action
and the strike will be total if care is not taken. So, it will be better for the government to talk to the contractor handling the job to expedite action on it.
and the strike will be total if care is not taken. So, it will be better for the government to talk to the contractor handling the job to expedite action on it.
Speaking further, Adeyanju said the situation should be blamed on the shipping companies for a lack of holding bays and the dilapidated roads rather than the Presidential Taskforce put in place
to manage the traffic gridlock in the port city.
to manage the traffic gridlock in the port city.
“How do you expect the Presidential Task Force to work when the road is not good? The task force cannot perform when the roads are bad. If we are blaming the task force, let’s also blame the shipping companies for not having holding bays. Where are they putting their empty containers?
“Ordinarily, if a truck driver does not have any job to load at the port, why is he bringing his truck and empty container to the port?,” Adeyanju added.
