Hope rises as government sets to consider sacked tally clerks, on-board security men.

Tayo Oladipupo |

There is palpable hope as government has reaffirmed its commitment to addressing the issue associated with tally clerks and on-board security men of the Dockworkers branch of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN).

Recall that operations of the workers were effectively halted in December 2015 by the National Ports Authority (NPA) which failed to renew their contracts.

But in a renewed hope for the workers, it was gathered that both the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige and his counterpart in transportation, Rotimi Ameachi have officially written to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on how to engage the contractor handling the operations.

The letter it was gathered, called on management of NPA, to collate data from the contractors handling the operations for onward negotiations.

When contacted for confirmation on Wednesday, President General of MWUN, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju admitted that a letter had been written to NPA by the two ministers and management has commenced process on it.

The President General noted that the government has asked the union to send valuable documents about tally clerks and on-board security saying that the process has been concluded successfully.

Adeyanju who commended the Managing Director of NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman and her management team in ensuring that workers welfare is well taken care of, added that, “Everything is working to plan and I don’t want to pre-empt anything for now because it has to do with the two ministries and NPA.

“The issues involve tally clerks and on-board security, and these workers are all over the coastal states. They are in Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa, Cross Rivers, and Akwa Ibom and not limited to Lagos State alone.

“I think they (government) will call the contractors that are still around; I mean those that handle the services of the workers.

“Maybe they will ask them to provide relevant documents or data involving the tally clerks and on-board security men. And I think if that is done, whether pay off or not there is hope for the workers.

“With the body language of the ministries and NPA I think there is hope for the workers but I cannot tell you specifically the amount that they will pay the tally clerks and on-board security men.

While emphasizing on the role of the workers in port operations, Comrade Adeyanju reiterated that tally clerks and on-board security play pivotal role in shipping activities established by law.

He added that the two components of MWUN form an integral part of dockworkers, saying that the workers contribution to port operations cannot be isolated from shipping development in Nigeria and the world.

He further pledged that the union will continue to support Hadiza Bala Usman and her management team of the NPA for their support to workers’ welfare.