Terminal operators, dockworkers new welfare agreement to boost productivity

Determined to enhance the welfare of dockworkers and to boost productivity at the nation’s seaport, terminal operators under the aegis of the Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN) have signed an agreement with the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) geared at increasing the wages of dockworkers.

The wage increase was the high point of negotiation between STOAN and representatives of MWUN under a collective bargaining agreement while the new agreement also stipulates that dockworkers will enjoy a wage increase ranging from 5 to 10 percent depending on the type of cargo handled at the terminal where they work. STOAN also agreed to pay one year arrears of the new wage by 15th June 2015 to cover for the time between the end of the lifespan of the previous agreement which was 1st of June 2014 and the beginning of the new agreement.

Vicky Haastrup, chairman of STOAN, who disclosed this in a statement issued over the weekend, said the reviewed welfare package will be valid for a period of two years, taking retroactive effect from 1st June 2014 to 31st May 2016 while all arrears under the new package will be paid on or before 15th of June 2015. The review of the dockworkers wages, the STOAN chairman said, is in tandem with the promise made by the concessionaires to improve the working condition and welfare of workers at the ports.

“When we took over operation of the terminal in 2006, we promised to not only modernise the port but to also improve the working conditions of port workers and we have continued to deliver excellent results in both directions such that workers at the port now enjoy much better working condition compared to what obtained in the pre-port concession era,” she said.

Expressing satisfaction with the level of reform attained in dock-labour industry since port concession, Haastrup said that terminal operators will also make 10 percent contribution of total emolument in each dockworker retirement fund while the dockworker contributes 8 percent in line with the Pension Commission Act.

While commending the leadership of MWUN for exhibiting maturity and patriotism during the negotiations, she called on dockworkers to reciprocate the terminal operators’ good gesture by remaining committed to their jobs and by shunning acts that could be inimical to the smooth running of the ports.

Haastrup said that despite the challenging operating environment, the terminal operators will continue to invest and modernise the nation’s seaports to achieve the Federal Government’s objectives for port reforms.  She reaffirmed her earlier call for an urgent solution to the perennial Apapa gridlock, which she said is adversely affecting port operation and the Nigerian economy.

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