Ex-MWUN PG, Adeyanju slams under- insurance of dockworkers by employers, tasks NIMASA on enforcement

The immediate past President-General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, has criticized the practice of under- insuring dockworkers by employers of labour, calling on the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to intensify enfforcement on errant companies to ensure comprehensive insurance coverage for every worker.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 2025 Day of the Dockworkers celebration in Lagos on Tuesday, Adeyanju noted that while mandatory insurance is in place, the regulatory oversight needs significant improvement.

“We have insurance cover for dock workers, but there should be a lot of improvement coming from the regulatory agency—that is NIMASA—by enforcing the employers of labour, because if you don’t monitor them, some of them under-insure the workers.”

Noting that some terminal operators fail to insure all their staff, Adeyanju added,
“If you go around and inspect their file, you’ll find out that where you have close to 200 to 300 workers, those that are insured are not up to 150. So what happened to the other people that were not insured?” he queried.

He explained that all terminal operators are mandated to engage the P&I (Protection and Indemnity) Club, which manages insurance for accident victims both onboard vessels and ashore but stressed that NIMASA must intensify its enforcement to ensure every worker is covered.

While commending the reduction in accidents at the quay apron due to what he called the union’s proactiveness in engaging terminal operators, Adeyanju insisted that port safety still requires major improvement.

“I can say the level of accidents have reduced. But safety still needs to be improved. Not only from NIMASA or NPA but also from the terminal operators.

“When you lost a single soul, you know how many people that are at the back of that soul that you lost, ” he said.

Speaking on the performance of NIMASA as the regulatory agency for dockworkers, Adeyanju lauded the agency for establishing a good condition of service, which has led to the transformation of dock workers to pensionable workers.

“The way it is now we have a little bit of improvement in our welfare but I cannot say everything is 100%. But we need to thank the management of NIMASA who are the ones taking good care of the dock workers’ welfare together with the terminal operators. If you remember in 2006, the dock workers have lost hope when we heard that the terminal operators are coming to take over port operations as concessionaires. But to God be the glory today, we are able to sit down with the NPA, Nigerian Shippers’ Council and NIMASA you all are aware of the effort we put in place before we were able to come out with NJC.

“So, I would rate NIMASA to be the best regulatory agency… To me, NIMASA is doing its best,” he said.

Adeyanju, however, urged the government to focus on securing a dignified retirement for them.

“We have condition of service… what we need to do now is to compel the government to focus more on our gratuity, our pensions, our take-home when you retire. “You cannot retire as a poor worker. We want to see where a dockworker will be going home with something tangible like their counterparts in the ports.”

He also expressed optimism that the Federal Government’s recently approved port rehabilitation and modernization contract will address the poor working environment, which he described as “poor as anything.”