The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) said it has finally reached an agreement with employers of labour in the shipping industry on minimum wage standards for workers, ending a 23-year struggle.
Recall that the union had declared state of emergency in the sector after several failed negotiations with the shipping companies for improved welfare and condition of service for its members.
President General of MWUN, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, who disclosed this in Lagos on Tuesday expressed satisfaction with the new minimum standard for workers.
He said that the era had gone when shipping workers would be handed “death sentences” after retirement.
His words, “We have concluded negotiations for Collective Bargaining Agreement for workers in the shipping subsector of the maritime industry.
“You know in the past that I declared state of emergency in the sector following failure of the management of shipping companies to come to the negotiation table with us.
“But today, we were able to meet with all the employers and resolve the issue. Now, we are about to have a minimum standard for shipping workers.
“We are satisfied with the little one we have gotten now. But like Oliver Twist we will always ask for more but with the way it is now, we are satisfied because we have been on this matter for almost 23 years,
“Tday, we have gotten minimum standard for shipping and we are signing the agreement on Monday.”
He said the union will continue advocating for further improvements of the minimum standard in the future.
