By Eguono Odjegba

Contrary to controversies surrounding the recent signing of dockworkers Collective Bargaining Agreement, CBA, the President General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, has said the relationship between the    Union and Stevedoring Contractors is smooth.

Comrade Adewale Adeyanju

In this interview, he explained the situation and also talked about other related industry issues. Excerpt:

BEING a principal promoter, can you tell us how long the journey to the CBA took and the major challenges you had?

The journey actually started in 2006 after the port concession.    Remember it was initiated and strongly promoted by the former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Alhaji Abdulsalam Mohammed. He started the process when he set up the National Joint Industrial Council, NJIC, which all of us are enjoying now. It was a long journey but we thank God that through the NJIC the dock labour now has structure in place; structure in the sense that if a dockworker is leaving tomorrow, he will be doing so with a guarantee that something reasonable will follow.

Given that the agreement more or less succeeded because the Ship Terminal Owners Association of Nigeria, STOAN, played along, would you say the CBA is binding on terminal operators not in the umbrella of STOAN?

The agreement is binding on all terminal operators. I also like to believe that all terminal operators are registered with STOAN. That is the only umbrella through which we discuss with all terminal operators as a group. It is the same way you find all dockworkers doing related jobs are housed here in the union.

There were reports that the National Association of Stevedoring Companies kicked over your position that dockworkers would henceforth deal directly with terminal operators on wages, terminal benefits and the other related financials, based on the CBA. Are you not worried this may generate some industrial crisis? 

The dockworkers and stevedoring contractors are members of one family. There is no way we will not continue to relate on certain issues, because in the first place they are the one that recruits dockworkers on behalf of terminal operators. So there is no controversy as far as our relationship is concerned.    What the Union is saying is that the stevedoring contractors lack what it takes to discuss wage and benefits issues. They are like middle men between dockworkers and the terminal operators who are the actual employers. Stevedores get a fee for their role, they get royalty. With the new arrangement under CBA, roles have been redefined where both contractors and employers positions have been spelt out very clearly.

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If the terminal operators want dockworkers, the stevedores stand in and recruits and the union recognizes this important role. However, all assets and liabilities lies with the terminal operators, and the dockworkers livelihood depends on    this operational assets and liabilities.    Ask yourself, can the stevedoring contractors respond to issues of wages and benefits? The answer is no, because it is the responsibility of the terminal operators who are the master stevedores. Before the port concession the NPA which deals with all manner of wages and issues of gratuities and compensations was the master stevedore.

This status was transferred to the terminal operators after the port reforms. The CBA has addressed all of these issues, while the stevedoring contractors retains the statutory mandate for recruiting dockworkers, only the master stevedores, the terminal operators have the responsibility for wages and terminal benefits issues. Both the dockworkers and stevedoring contractors are paid by the terminal operators for different services. So is it fair for the dockworkers to remain tied to the influence of the stevedoring contractors, who has no assets and liabilities and does not have the power to decide on the dockworkers welfare? This clearly explains our position to deal with the actual employers.

So the relationship is still there? 

Intact and cordial and working as far as dockworkers recruitment is concerned. Stevedoring Contractors are also still part of the NJIC. All we are saying is that with the CBA, dockworkers henceforth will deal with matters of wage and benefits and pension with terminal operators, who are the real employers and the master stevedores.

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Prior to the signing of the CBA there were pending issues of dockworkers benefits and compensation. How will the union deal with those outstanding issues under the present agreement?

All outstanding matters are covered by the new agreement. In the past if somebody was involved in an accident onboard vessel, they direct them to the stevedoring contractors. Why didn’t they put PI Club, the Charterer who brought the vessel?    It is an international business binding on both parties, all workers onboard that vessel whether you are a staff or cleaner, if there is any eventuality like accident, it will be borne by the PI Club and no longer the stevedoring contractor. It is now a tripartite agreement between the Stevedoring Contractor, the Union and PI Club. So, all matters will be taken care of under the CBA.

Is there still job for the NJIC with the eventual coming into being of the CBA?

The CBA falls under two categories. We have CBA for dockworkers and CBA for seafarers. You know that NPA is a government agency which enjoys civil service coverage, they review theirs as at when due. But we also have another arm which is shipping and the wage issue in that area is nothing to write home about. We have written several letters to the Shipping Association of Nigeria, SAN, they have failed to respond so far. This year we have written a reminder, and the Union is considering declaring state of emergency in the shipping services. We are waiting; we want to know whether they will respond to our letters or not.

 Do you have 100% faith in the workability of the CBA? 

Absolutely, but we are not resting on our oars. The Union will ensure that its implementation is not impeded in anyway; we will follow the contents of the agreement page by page. The CBA has taken care of 60percent of our problems; problems of wages, terminal benefits, pensions etc. Not that we expect that anyone would renege but we don’t want to be taken unawares. So we are watching and we will shout anytime we notice any dubious movement. As things stand the dockworker is becoming a critical part of the port system. Nobody can now just walk in and say he wants to be a dockworker; due processes will be laid down. There will be job application because we now have condition of service attached. These are important developments, with job applications, there will also be letter of employment for those engaged; otherwise how can you access your pension?

We have reasons to believe that government does not have current and updated dockworkers employers register or is the register no longer relevant? 

It is not the Union’s responsibility to provide the dockworkers register, only NIMASA is empowered to do that as the regulator. You cannot be a dockworker without being duly registered. The Union is not happy that dockworkers are carrying expired ID cards, so our position is that all dockworkers in our port should be registered and captured under a database. It is bad to have somebody come from Oyo or Warri or Calabar and say he is a dockworker and we do not have a database to verify. Lack of dockworkers register even negates port security. If I am a tally clerk, onboard security man or cargo superintendent, it should reflect in the ID card am carrying and captured in the register. I think the delay has to do with the usual government bureaucracy. So I agree with you that there is no reliable dockworkers employers register and anyone showing you one is not sincere, it is fake.

There are complaints that the maritime workforce, the ship chandelling, seamen and other services are dominated by foreigners. Is the union concerned about this?

We are very much concerned about this development which is very pronounced in the seafarers industry where Philippines have taken over jobs that Nigerians should be doing. Incidentally, it is still NIMASA that is in charge of enforcement. At our level we have established a task force, we have notified NIMASA. The task force will be going around for monitoring and to identify foreign vessels illegally operating in our exclusive zones. They will commence activities soon, and anytime we identify an offender we will raise the alarm.

There were cases of increased onboard vessel accidents last year, what would say was responsible? 

I am not sure there was increase; I think onboard vessels accident was reduced to the minimum last year following massive sensitization of dockworkers by the union.    We educated them on safety measures.

Would you recall that one vessel sailed off after an accident occurred, and when investigations have hardly provided facts responsible for it? 

We were able to trace the ship concerned. The Union and NIMASA got reasonable compensation for the family of the dead dockworker.