The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Bashir Jamoh, has made a crucial call to employers of labour to enroll dockworkers into a contributory pension scheme.
The NIMASA DG stated this today to mark the Day of the Dockworker in Lagos. Dr. Jamoh while delivering his welcome address at the maiden day to celebrate dockworkers for their tireless role in ports operation.
The event organized by NIMASA in collaboration with the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) had as its theme “Healthy Dockworkers, Better Productivity,” and also focused on improving the health and general well-being of dockworkers.
The NIMASA DG, while speaking, also emphasised the need for operators of oil and gas terminals to operate writhing international best practices while ensuring compliance to laid down rules guidelines and conventions set by the IMO.
He said:
As we celebrate today, it is important to put in perspective the plight of dockworkers who spend the greater part of their working lives at the ports, with little or nothing to show for it.
As employers of labour, you must endeavour to put in place a Contributory Pension Scheme for dockworkers and ensure prompt remittances of both employer and employee contributions at the end of each month.
Speaking on compliance with stevedore inspections, he stated.
This occasion presents me with an opportunity to express the need for operators in the private jetties and oil and gas terminals to grant operational access to the stevedoring contractors appointed by the Honourable Minister of Transport to carry out stevedoring activities in assigned operational areas.
On his part, the President General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, thanked the NIMASA Management for organising the event to celebrate Nigerian dockworkers in recognition of the important role they play in the economic fabric at the ports.
In attendance at the event were representatives from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, the Nigerian Ports Authority, the Seaport Terminal Operators Association, and the National Association of Stevedoring Operators (NASA).
Internationally, July 7th is marked as ‘The Global Day of Action’ and is organized by the International Dockworkers’ Council (IDC) and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF). It aims to raise awareness of port working conditions and emphasise the importance of collective bargaining rights
(C) ControlTV 2023.
