The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has suspended its decision to shut down the nation’s seaports over the refusal of the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and stevedoring contractors to comply with the existing stevedoring laws.
The decision to suspend the strike was reached after the intervention of the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello-Koko, who brokered peace between the leadership of MWUN and marginal field operators of the oil and gas industry over non-compliance with Stevedoring regulations.
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Appealing to the maritime workers during the meeting, Mohammed Bello Koko said, “We will do all it takes to ensure industrial harmony and prevent the shutdown of crucial production platforms of the Oil and Gas and allied industries that maritime workers control. The national economy cannot afford any shutdown at this time.”
However, after the meeting, the President-General of the MWUN, Adewale Adeyanju, directed all its members under the four branches of the union to resume normal duties with immediate effect.
Adeyanju disclosed that a communiqué was signed on the deadline for full compliance with Stevedoring Regulations by operators in the petroleum industry, which addressed the declaration of the strike action to shut down the seaports, terminals, jetties, and oil and gas platforms nationwide.
According to him, the resolutions arrived at are: that though the IOCs have substantially complied with the deployment of Labour, the matter of equipment deployment is to be examined within the next three months.
“That meetings be facilitated within one week by the relevant regulators, the marginal field operators, and all other non-compliant operators to ensure immediate compliance with the Stevedoring Regulations and the granting of access to appoint Stevedores.
“That full resolutions of all issues relating to compliance and grants of access to work locations to Stevedores by location operators be sorted out between now and the end of January 2024.
“That while these actions are being taken, the earlier communiqué reached Friday, January 5, 2024, be immediately implemented as a mark of good faith, and that based on the above resolutions, the union has decided to lift the impending shutting down of the nation’s seaports.”
The meeting culminated in the signing of a communiqué addressing the workers’ grievances and the subsequent suspension of planned strike action. In attendance were the Executive Vice President (Down Stream) for Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Adedapo Segun; Deputy President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Adewale Adeyanju; President of the National Association of Stevedoring Operators (NASO), Bolaji Sunmola; Managing Director of Nigerian Pipeline Storage Company (NPSC), Bayo Adenrele; and Assistant Director of Distribution System, Storage, and Retail Infrastructure of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), amongst other industry leaders.
UNITY TIMES reports that the MWUN issued an ultimatum to shutdown all oil production and allied platforms over non-compliance with the stevedoring regulations, lack of access to work locations, and lack of remittance of the 3% MWUN levy by stevedores.