A repeated attempt by the National Assembly to enact the Port and Harbour Bill behind closed doors has alarmed the maritime branches of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) and Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government Owned Companies (SSASCGOC).
The Port and Harbour Bill, if it were to become law, according to the two internal unions in the maritime industry, would give private control over harbor, jetty, and terminal operations, which would have severe and far-reaching effects for national security.
Yesterday, at a joint news conference, the presidents of the SSACGOC, Maritime Branch, and MWUN, Adeyanju Adewale and Akinola Bodunde, urged the National Assembly, the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, and the executive branch to oppose the Bill’s passage into law.
They emphasized that the proposed Bill would threaten the productivity of other port users and result in the unemployment of staff of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) if it were to become law.
The unions claim that the proposed Bill’s plan to create whole new jobs that are neither transferable, pensionable, or eligible for terminal benefits is even more nefarious.
“This is the height of the bill’s proponents’ disregard for workers’ rights to the compensation they need for the services they provide, in line with established law, labor relations procedures, equity, and good conscience.”
“We believe that if this Bill is allowed to become law, it will effectively institutionalize the harmful idea of workers being treated as contractors and will also invalidate the provisions of the amended Pension Reform Act of 2004.”
“With this infamous bill that will only serve to further impoverish already impoverished workers and Nigerian citizens, we, the two in-house unions in the maritime sector, MWUN and SSASCGOC, will not fold our hands, rest on our laurels, and allow a few unpatriotic Nigerians within the industry to rip off the nation’s commonwealth and render our sector unproductive.” We categorically oppose the bill that aims to completely repeal the Act that established the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), according to Adeyanju.
They said that well-meaning Nigerians, stakeholders, and internal unions prevented the bill—which had been introduced by a member of the eighth assembly—from becoming law by expressing their objection to the “hellish” bill.
They said that the bill’s sponsors were unpatriotic members of the marine industry who were out to seize the country’s commonwealth and funnel it into their own and their allies’ coffers.
