The Nigerian Marítime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), has urged operators of Oil and Gas Terminals to allow only approved stevedoring companies aboard their installations
Speaking at the Day of the Dockworker, titled, ‘Healthy Dockworker, Better Productivity’, the director general of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, said allowing only approved stevedores on Oil & Gas installation would ensure compliance with relevant international guidelines and conventions.
Jamoh, however, urged terminal operators in the nation’s seaports to ensure all dockworkers are enrolled on contributory pension schemes
He said, “This occasion presents me with an opportunity to express the need for operators in the private jetties and Oil & Gas Terminals to grant operational access to the Stevedoring Contractors appointed by the Honorable Minister of Transport, to carry out stevedoring activities in assigned operational areas.”
While asking terminal operators to enroll their staff on pension schemes, he said, “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.”
On his part, the President General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, in his address, he thanked the NIMASA Management for organizing the event to celebrate Nigerian dockworkers in recognition of the important role played by them.
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In attendance at the event were representatives from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity; Nigerian Ports Authority; 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 organized by the International Dockworkers’ Council (IDC) and International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF). It aims to raise awareness of port working conditions and emphasize the importance of collective bargaining rights.
