The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) and the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-owned Companies (SSACGOC), Maritime Branch, have signed a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the management of Lekki Freeport Terminal (LFT), ending months of negotiations over improved wages and conditions of service.
The agreement, signed in Lagos on Friday, provides for salary and allowance increases of up to 150 per cent for workers. The new CBA replaces the previous agreement signed in March 2024.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, witnessed by representatives of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the President-General of MWUN, Comrade Francis Bunu, commended the management of LFT for its commitment to workers’ welfare and for reaching the agreement with the unions.
Bunu maintained that the primary responsibility of trade unions was to protect the welfare of their members and ensure that workers received better salaries and conditions of service.
He said the successful conclusion of the negotiations demonstrated the importance of cooperation between terminal operators, trade unions and workers, stressing that such collaboration would enhance productivity and ensure industrial harmony.
“If these two bodies, LFT and the labour unions, work together, then there will be greater productivity. Productivity will be assured,” he said.
Bunu described the agreement as evidence that LFT had recognised the importance of workers’ welfare, adding that the union appreciated the management’s support to labour whenever negotiations arose, even when disagreements occurred.
He urged trade union leaders in the maritime sector to maintain constructive relationships with employers, stressing that management, unions and workers should not regard one another as adversaries.
“We put the workers first before us. We put their welfare and better conditions of service first. Let us not see ourselves as enemies. Management, union and workers are one. If we work together, there will not be problems at any terminal,” Bunu said.
According to him, MWUN’s strategy to secure the 150 percent rise was to engage employers through dialogue and present the realities confronting workers, particularly the disparity between wages paid to African dockworkers and their counterparts in other parts of the world.
“Africa is not where you come and get cheap labour. Africa is where you come and get quality labour,” Bunu said, arguing that workers performing similar duties at terminals should receive competitive remuneration.
He said the union had compared workers’ earnings across different countries as part of its advocacy for improved conditions of service.
Also speaking, the President of SSACGOC, Maritime Branch, Comrade Akinola Bodunde, described the new CBA as an improvement on the previous agreement.
“What we are doing this year is to review the CBA we signed two years ago . Even though it took us time, about four months, I mean we started around February, almost six months. But in all we were able to achieve something.
“There is no CBA that is perfect or 100 per cent. It is about negotiations, and we will continue to build on what we have,” he said.
He explained that the salary increases were not uniform across all categories, with some workers receiving increases of about 150 per cent, while others would receive increases of 80 per cent or 60 per cent, depending on their grade and applicable conditions.
The increases, he said, covered the basic salary as well as various allowances, including transport, feeding, utility and housing allowances among others.
He urged workers to reciprocate the management’s commitment by contributing their quota to the growth and development of the terminal.
“The management is giving you something reasonable and so you must contribute your quota to the development of the port. You must work together with the management to grow the port,” he said.
He described LFT as one of the terminals in Nigeria offering competitive allowances to its workers.
Responding, the Chief Executive Officer of LFT, Mr. Jedrzej Mierzewsky, said despite arguments that sometimes characterised negotiations, the parties eventually reached an agreement in the collective interest of the terminal.
He said the objective was not to secure victory for one party over another but to establish conditions that would enable LFT to become the best terminal in West Africa.
“Despite the few arguments that sometimes arise during negotiations, the main point is that we finally did it in the interest of LFT. It is not in the interest of one party, but we all have a common goal, which is to make LFT the best terminal in West Africa,” he said.
The General Manager, Government Relations and Security, LFT, Mr. Fubara Awanta, described the agreement as a “people’s CBA”, saying its implementation would provide additional financial benefits to workers while also supporting the sustainability of the terminal’s operations.
“What we are exhibiting today is a people’s CBA. A people’s CBA in the sense that everybody in the family, upon implementation, will receive additional salaries,” Awanta said.
He said the agreement was reached after a painstaking negotiation process involving the unions and management.
Awanta said his primary objective was to ensure that business continuity at LFT remained sustainable.
He also disclosed that preparations were underway for the commencement of the terminal’s second phase, expressing confidence that the business plan would significantly expand the terminal’s operations and contribute to its future growth.
The new CBA is expected to strengthen industrial harmony at the terminal while improving workers’ remuneration and conditions of service as LFT continues to expand its operations.
Photo caption:
Chief Executive Officer of LFT, Mr. Jedrzej Mierzewsk (middle), President General of MWUN, Comrade Francis Bunu ( 2nd from right) and management staff of LFT during the signing of the new CBA for workers in Lagos on Friday.
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