The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has expressed strong disagreement with the plans by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adgboyega Oyetola, to re-introduce a national shipping line 28 years after it was quitted.
The minister had on Tuesday at the maiden industry stakeholders’ roundtable discussion talked about considering re-floating a national shipping line on a public private partnership model.
Alluding to the minister’s proposal in a statement, the MWUN said it would be unjust to attempt re-floating a national shipping line without first settling retirees of the national shipping line, who had been practically left to their fate ever since.
“The re-floating of a new NNSL will be a mirage if the retired seafarers, who worked tirelessly with deep sense of patriotism for the country, are not given their due rights after 28 years that they left service of the national carrier vessels. It will only amount to human injustice of the highest order. It will also be tantamount to placing the cart before the horse if such proposition is in the pipeline without first thinking of the aged seafarers.
“We, as a Labour Union will not sit aloof and keep watching our aged seafarers to continue suffering unnecessary penury after meritorious years of service to their fatherland. It’s true that some of the aged seafarers have died from various types of ailments; some from psychological torture and trauma; mental degradation, abject poverty and so much more that has weighed them down in depression,” the statement reads in part.
According to the statement, President -General of the Maritime Workers Union (MWUN) Comrade (Prince) Dr. Adewale Adeyanju, fnli HFCPSP, few months back met with the Minister during the commissioning of the Mission to Seafarers Center in Apapa, where he mentioned to the Minister the enormous task ahead of him in his ministry, and various major issues confronting the Maritime Workers Union, especially on the protracted unpaid entitlements and pensions of disengaged Seafarers of the liquidated NNSL, even as ruled by the NIC in favour of the aged Seafarers that they should be paid.
The Union said it became unsettled when the Minister did not speak about the aged seafarers who navigated with the moribund national carrier vessels while discussing the new national shipping line proposal. Part of the angst by the Union is that its President General had given assurances of their support in their contributions to the sector.
“It will be unkind to the Union to hear any assertion by the Minister regarding a new NNSL without carrying along the previously disengaged seafarers concerning their entitlements which have not been fully settled,” the Union said.
The Union recalls that a former Minister of Transportation, Muazu Sambo, had up a committee involving two ministries; Ministry of Transportation and Labour Ministry respectively. The said committee, which was charged with the responsibility of carrying out physical verification exercise of the aged seafarers, never met and never addressed any of the issues.
“So, where do we go from here, when you want to re-float the NNSL with no consideration to the seafarers who served the defunct carrier vessels? This is unheard of anywhere globally. Therefore, the assertion for a new NNSL is mirage in its conception, except the needful is done,” the union added.
The Union insists it must be included in the affairs of the Marine and Blue Economy, for effective operations.
“The Union position as far as the new ministry is concerned cannot function without the inclusion of MWUN in all its ramifications; hence, the Union must be part of the policy process, which must be seen to conforming with the rules of social inclusion and collaboration, because the blue economy must be seen to strengthening social equity order, hence, our disposition, given the aged Seafarers debacle which is yet to receive serious attention,” the Union said.
