The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) have begun discussions on how to resolve the lingering issue of terminal benefits of seafarers whose appointments were terminated following the liquidation of the defunct Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL).
Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh and Vice President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), who is also President General of MWUN, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, jointly announced an agreement for physical verification of the affected seafarers’ next of kin as may be applicable, the nature of appointment of all affected seafarers and the exact amount due to each beneficiary.
Jamoh also assured the Union that their position will be communicated to the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy to ensure that the Federal Government takes all necessary actions to conclude the issue of NNSL.
“The issue of industrial harmony in the maritime sector is of uttermost interest to our administration at NIMASA. We have been at this for a while. NIMASA had offered 100 million naira as settlement, which the Union declined. We have also discovered that some of those demanding settlement did not even have any employment letter.
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“We will follow the lead of the supervising ministry and ensure the physical verification exercise is brought to a logical conclusion. The minister will be duly updated by the agency. I look forward to closing this issue in months to come,” he said.
On his part, the President General of MWUN, Comrade Adeyanju restated the union’s commitment to a peaceful resolution of disputes in ensuring that the rights and privileges of workers are well protected without disrupting productivity in the maritime sector.
Adeyanju, who commended the Jamoh-led Management at NIMASA for its efforts at resolving the lingering issues, urged others to follow the agency’s example.
“I commend NIMASA under Jamoh, for the unflinching commitment to industrial harmony. He is always a phone call away to resolve any issue. Yes, NIMASA offered N100 million to offset the terminal benefits.
“However, if others like the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) and others also add to the funds, there will be enough to go round the expected beneficiaries. Considering current realities, we want to do for seafarers what we did for dockworkers when a flat rate of N200,000 was paid to beneficiaries during the concession of the ports,” he added.
