Truck Drivers Call-Off Strike Action … Clearing Agents Demand Demurrage Waiver

Zion Olalekan |

Striking truck drivers at the seaports yesterday called off their nine-day old strike action, even as clearing agents have called for a nation’s Memorandum of Understanding with terminal operators and shipping companies on demurrage waiver for the days the strike lasted.

Chairman of Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMARTO) Chief Remi Ogungbemi confirmed the resumption of services to nigeriamaritime360.com yesterday.

The decision to call of the strike action was reached at a stakeholders meeting midwifed by the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Barrister Hassan Bello at the Shippers Tower in Apapa, Lagos.

Nigeriamaritime360.com gathered that the meeting was attended by NARTO, AMARTO, RTEAN, NPA and the Navy.

Licensed customs agents and freight forwarders in the maritime sector have earlier threatened to stop paying customs duties and other charges to terminal operators and shipping companies on account of the strike action.

Speaking with our correspondent at Apapa port yesterday, customs agents who pleaded anonymity said that it was wrong for customs to keep duty while demurrage and rent kept accruing for agents and importers to pay.

One of them and member of Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) said there should be an understanding after the strike action has been called off, and the need for terminal operators to waive some demurrages.

“At Grimaldi now, people are still writing TDO, I have finished my job since last week but I have not taken the delivery, now I have to go and re-rate at N169,000”.

“The transporters meant well, they have given enough time for NPA to address the situation and the alleged extortion”.

“Government is collecting duty and that is why they don’t want to intervene, and we are the cause of it, if we stop paying duty for two weeks and no money is going anywhere, they will seat up. But as it is, it doesn’t concern them, the government has collected their money” he said.

The strike action was embarked upon in Lagos Wednesday last week.

The truckers also embarked on a protest action on Monday at Apapa and Tin Can Island Port, thereby vandalising two patrol vehicles belonging the Nigerian Navy.

Also speaking with journalists in his office yesterday, Deputy Comptroller in charge of Administration at Apapa Customs Command, DC Igbita JB noted that though customs is working presently, if care is not taken, the strike action might lead to major port congestion.

Also speaking with our correspondent, a licensed Customs Agent, Mr Ojo Akintoye lamented that the nine-day strike action is affecting port operations.

He however told our correspondent that “The good news is that the truck owners are holding series of meetings with the government and they are looking for a permanent solution to the problem of articulated trucks”.

“The strike action has had nothing to do with revenue, the Nigeria Customs Service are collecting their revenue, the terminal operators are dropping containers for examination and they are also ready for the delivery of cargoes”.

“The only thing is that it is now building up to port congestion because there is no space to put the containers”.

“We have written to the terminal operators, we need to appeal to them because it is a national problem, whatever affects one group in this sector affects all, and the problem of one is problem of all”.

While reacting to the call for clearing agents to join the strike action, Akintoye said “It is not bad if ANLCA joins in on the strike, unfortunately the truckers have made a big blunder, they did not consult ANLCA and other stakeholders before embarking on the strike, if they had consulted with other stakeholders, it could have been a total shut down and withdrawal of service”.