The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has charged employers of labour to ensure all dockworkers are enrolled on contributory pension schemes.
Bashir Jamoh, director general of NIMASA also emphasised the need for operators of oil and gas terminals to allow only approved stevedores aboard their installations, to ensure compliance with relevant international guidelines and conventions.
He disclosed this in Lagos recently at the ‘Day of the Dockworker’ with the theme ‘Healthy Dockworker, Better Productivity’, held to appreciate the efforts of Nigerian dockworkers at the centre of the nation’s import-dependent economy.
According to Jamoh, “As we celebrate today, it is important to put in perspective the plight of dockworkers who spend the greater part of their working life at the ports, with little or nothing to show for it. As employers of labour, you must endeavour to put in place a Contributory Pension Scheme for dockworkers and ensure prompt remittances of both Employers and Employees contributions at the end of each month”.
“This occasion presents me with an opportunity to express the need for operators in the private jetties and oil and gas terminals to grant operational access to the Stevedoring Contractors appointed by the Minister of Transport, to carry out stevedoring activities in assigned operational areas,” he said.
On his part, Adewale Adeyanju, president general of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), thanked the NIMASA Management for organizing the event to celebrate Nigerian dockworkers in recognition of the important role played by them.
In attendance at the event were representatives from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity; the Nigerian Ports Authority; the Seaport Terminal Operators Association and the National Association of Stevedoring Operators (NASA).
Internationally, July 7th is marked as ‘The Global Day of Action’ and is organised by the International Dockworkers’ Council (IDC) and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF). It aims to raise awareness of port working conditions and emphasize the importance of collective bargaining rights.
