ENL Consortium disowns protesting dockworkers

ENL Consortium, operator of Terminals C and D of the Lagos Port Complex, Apapa has disowned dockworkers, who staged a protest at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Headquarters in Marina, Lagos on Monday, claiming to be working at the terminal.

Uzamot Boye, legal Adviser to ENL Consortium, said in a statement that was sent to BusinessDay that the staffs of the company were all at their duty posts inside the port carrying out their various tasks.

“All our workers are at work. Those who protested were those who have since been disengaged from the port and who have been paid their terminal benefits. You can verify this from the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN),” Boye said.

According to him, MWUN would have been in the forefront of the protest if the protesters were genuine port workers. It would be recalled that the same people had earlier carried out similar protest at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) headquarters in Apapa, but were told that they had been disengaged from service and due allowance paid to them.

“ENL Consortium is a people-focused organisation. We empower our people and enable them to be the best. Our executive vice chairman/CEO places the welfare of workers above every other consideration,” he added.

Confirming this, Adewale Adeyanju, president, Dockworkers Branch of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), said that the protesting dockworkers have been disengaged from the port and paid their entitlements as stipulated under the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC) agreement. Adeyanju said issues affecting maritime labour must be discussed at the table with employers, rather than resort to the arm-twisting tactics of the past. “For the past 30 to 40 years, we have not had anything like terminal benefit for dockworkers and it is under our administration that we are getting what a responsible dockworker ought to get.”

Uzoamaka Anagor-Ewuzie