Labour suspends planned ports shut-down

MARITIME Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, yesterday, suspended the plan to shut down the nation’s ports starting from today over eight months unpaid salary arrears to members of the dockworkers branch of the union, following an agreement with the management of Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA.This came as the union dismissed claims by NPA that it had paid 56 per cent of monies owed dockworkers, saying NPA was being economical with the truth.
President-General of MWUN, Mr. Anthony Emmanuel Nted said: “It is not true that NPA paid 56 per cent of monies owed dockworkers.
What the NPA paid through Stevedoring Company is even less than three months. The NPA released about N400 million to the contractor to pay over 1, 400 dockworkers. But the same NPA released N300 million to its own contractor, “Cargo Surveyor” to pay about 100 workers which it hired.”
Meanwhile, following a meeting between the management of NPA and MWUN leaders, after government waded and directed that the contending issue be resolved, the pending industrial unrest was suspended.

It was gathered that NPA team led by the Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Mr. Olumide Oduntan, agreed to pay the balance of the five months before November 15, and that the January to March had been paid to employers of the workers (tally clerks and onboard security), Wednesday.

Confirming the development, President of Dockworkers’ branch of MWUN, Adewale Adeyaju said the union would hold a meeting this morning to brief the workers on the development.

BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG