The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, has rejected the Federal Government’s efforts to re-float the Nigeria National Shipping Line, NNSL, 28 years after it was liquidated by Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.
The union contended that the government that shut down the national carrier 28 years ago still owes benefits to disengaged and other former workers of the defunct NNSL in addition to not bringing organized labour along.
Remember that on Tuesday in Lagos, the ministry’s first Stakeholders’ Roundtable Engagement on Advancing Sustainable Development in Nigeria’s Marine and Blue Economy sector was briefed by the minister of marine and blue economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, about the ministry’s intention to re-float the NNSL through a strategic public-private partnership arrangement.
In a statement, the President-General of MWUN, Prince Adewale Adeyanju, emphasized that before any re-floating under any pretext could be addressed, the NNSL liquidation’s aftermath, particularly the unpaid benefits of its former employees, needed to be settled peacefully.
The Union’s Head of Media, John Kennedy Ikemefuna, among others, reportedly said in a statement released by Adeyanju that the Union “is now having a different view of the Minister when he did not talk about the aged seafarers who navigated with the defunct national carrier vessels over the new NNSL proposal.
“As we speak, the Union remains concerned about the MWUN, whose main problems with respect to the settlement of retiree-aged seafarers and other issues facing the blue economy which lacks a precise definition and mode of operation, have not been resolved over the years with multiple Ministers of Transportation.
“As a labour union, we will not remain silent while our elderly seafarers endure needless hardship following their honourable years of duty to their country. It is true that a number of elderly sailors have passed away from a variety of illnesses, including mental degradation, psychological torment and trauma, extreme poverty, and other conditions that left them depressed.
Recall that two ministries, the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Labour, respectively, formed a committee under the leadership of former Transportation Minister Muazu Sambo. The aforementioned committee was tasked with conducting the physical verification of the elderly sailors, which the Union had hoped would provide some assistance, but to little effect.
“The blue economy that is on the lips of every Nigerian today emerged as a global concept in 2012. Therefore, the Union’s position as far as the new ministry is concerned cannot function without the inclusion of MWUN in all its ramifications. .
“Therefore, in order to ensure that the blue economy is perceived as adhering to social inclusion and collaborative norms, the Union must participate in the policy-making process.
The President-General, who also serves as the Deputy President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, had previously appealed for the Minister to investigate the persistent problem of seafarers and provide a reasonable solution.
However, disapproved of the Minister of the Union’s projection to refloat a new NNSL when he visited Lagos without taking into consideration the plight of the disengaged elderly seafarers, who were essentially integral parts of the defunct national carrier. The Minister had promised the Prince of the Union’s support to ensure that the country achieved much in the sector during his tenure.
“To hear the Minister make any claims about a new NNSL without also bringing the previously disengaged seafarers’ unresolved entitlements into consideration would be cruel to the Union.”
