By Victor Ahiuma-Young
MARITIME Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, Monday issued a two-week ultimatum to the management of Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, to prevail on Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, Chevron/Texaco, Agip Energy & Natural Resources and 18 other firms to pay dockworkers for tonnage handled in off-shore operations for the past three years, or members would down tools nationwide.

At a briefing, MWUN President-General, Comrade Nted Anthony Emmanuel, listed other affected companies as Lammalco Nigeria Ltd, Murphy Shipping , Globestar Nigeria Ltd, Hyundai Heavy Industry Nigeria Ltd, ESSO Exploration Production Nigeria ltd,  NAOC, TIDEX , Seabulk offshore, Saipem group, Wilbross , Moni Pulo Nigeria Ltd, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, ADDAX Petroleum Development Nigeria Ltd, Amni Petroleum, SNEPCO Ltd, Hydrodive Nig Ltd, Red Transport Nigeria Ltd and Edison Chouset offshore Ltd.

Emmanuel said though Mobil Producing, Addax Petroleum Development Nigeria, Chevron/Texaco, and Amni Petroleum had indicated interest to pay, but as at yesterday, they had not paid.

He said the union had written letters and petitions to the Minister of Transport before and the management of NPA over the issue to no avail. He threatened that at the expiration of the two weeks ultimatum, if the NPA management failed to prevail on the firms to pay, the entire ports across the country would be shut down because “an injury to one is an injury to all.”

Emmanuel argued that NPA had the capacity to make them pay and wondered why it had refused to make them pay.

According to him: “We hereby protest over the unacceptable mode of operations of some Shipping Companies and Oil Companies engaged in off-shore discharge operations. These companies have persistently evaded payment of dockworkers dues in their off-shore discharge in spite of repeated demands from our union. We have also written series of letters to the Hon. Minister of Transport and the Management of Nigerian Ports Authority on this matter. It is regrettable that these companies have also disobeyed the NPA Management’s directive to them to pay the dockworkers as per the gazetted resou1ulation on off-shore discharge.”

“The continued denial of the payment of these dues to the dockworkers – a suffering class of workers, some of whom have died while waiting for the payment, is inhuman and unacceptable.

As the Authority charged with responsibility of superintending over the Port operations, we demand that the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority enforces the directive to the companies to pay up the bills without further delay. We further wish to state that we may be forced to withdraw the services of dockworkers from all our seaports if the payment is not made. Injury to one is injury to all.”