No fewer than nine former employees of Integrated Logistic Services, INTELS, Nigeria limited have died while waiting for the payment of their terminal and other benefits.

It was equally gathered that many other affected former staff are in critical health conditions without money to attend to their failing health.

Meanwhile, efforts to reach the management of INTELS were unsuccessful at the time of this report.

However, sources informed that most of the over 624 former staff disengaged by INTELS between 2020 and 2021 without the payment of their terminal and other benefits, now live in destitution.

Those that have died without receiving their benefits were Rhoda Oberueuria, Austine Okunsaye, Friday Ikwut, Nwabueze Okocha, Kennedy James, Wisdom Mbakanawo, Timothy Lucky, Gumikup Friday, and Andrew Ikpate,

Among those whose health conditions are worsening by the day without money to afford medical treatment are Iyara Best Oghenewede, Vincent Adolphus and Gogo Dagogo Ngeribara.

It was gathered that the 624 of these employees were employed by INTELS and seconded to Associated Maritime Services, AMS Limited.

But between November 2020 and June 2021, INTELS discontinued the services of the staff and AMS and declined payment of terminal and other benefits.

According to sources, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, where the workers belonged to as members took the matter to the Ministry of Labour and Employment for adjudication.

After efforts at reconciliation failed, the Ministry referred the matter to the Industrial Arbitration Panel, IAP, which in September 2021, gave a ruling that INTELS and AMS should pay full entitlements, including gratuities and terminal benefits of 624 sacked members of the MWUN.

It was gathered that AMS had initially paid redundancy extra ? gratuity to its 34 permanent staff and declined negotiation with MWUN to pay same money to the other 599 contract AMS staff affected by the same redundancy exercises.

According to sources, IAP after its findings ruled that N300,000 be used as mode of calculation of extra gratuity to be paid for each completed year of service to redundant workers who have completed five years of service and above.

The panel (IAP) also ruled that, ?All the contract staff/ employees seconded by the 3rd party to the 2nd party under their labour management contract namely; 599 contract staff affected by redundancy exercise conducted on November 30th 2020, eight contract staff affected by redundancy exercise conducted on 2nd February, 2021, and 17 contract staff affected by the redundancy exercise conducted on June 15, 2021, are employees of the 2nd party; INTELS Nig. Ltd.

INTELS, it was gathered took the case to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria , NICN, which ordered in its ruling that while INTELS should pay their terminal benefits and gratuities other benefits.

The NICN however, added a proviso that INTELS and AMS should negotiate with the Union and agree on the total benefits to pay all the 599 affected workers as was done to its permanent staff.

The NICN ruled that it was wrong for IAP to state the amount workers should be paid without negotiation.

Since the NICN?s ruling, it was gathered that INTELS has refused to negotiate with the Union and had gone to the Appeal Court to seek motion of leave to appeal the ruling of NICN.

The Appeal Court, it was gathered, has refused on two occasions, to grant the relief sought, yet INTELS has refused to enter into a negotiation with MWUN for the affected workers to be paid their legal entitlements.

Concerned about rising cases of deaths and plights of these retrenched workers, MWUN, has again petitioned the Managing Director of INTELS, urging him to negotiate with it to reach a compromise towards paying the former workers their entitlements and end their plights including untimely deaths among others.

In a letter dated November 20, 2024, MWUN through its Secretary General, Felix Akingboye, proposed December 6, 2024 date for a meeting at a venue convenient for the Managing Director.

The letter reads in part: ?We write in specific reference to your Motion for leave to Appeal against the industrial Arbitration panel award/judgement of the National industrial court in suit No. NICN/ABJ/268/2021 via Appeal No: CA/ABJ/PRE/ROA/CV/1347MI/2024/ Appeal No: CA/ ABJ/PRE/ROA/CV/527M/2024. We also refer you to our letter dated 10th June 2024 Ref No: MWUN/MD/INTELS/RCFUM/06.24 in which we demanded a Management/ Union meeting to negotiate and determine the amount to be paid to our members.

?We note your refusal to engage with Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria on this negotiation issue despite Arbitrary Panel award and NICN judgment ordering you to enter into negotiations with the union.

?We note that your reason for refusing to negotiate with MWUN as ordered by the court was that the matter was pending before a superior court since you already filed a motion for leave to Appeal the said NICN judgment. We are also aware that these motions for leave to Appeal which you referenced as your reason for avoiding negotiation with us have been struck out by court.

?As a union that believes in due process, discussion/ negotiation, and in consideration of the relationship existing between your organization and the union, we have continued to tow the path of caution to explore and exhaust all conciliatory avenues on this matter to ensure our members rights are protected and your company?s industrial atmosphere remains conducive to business.

?We are well aware of your company?s recent history of business disruptions due to political interference, and the fact that you only just recently surmounted the many obstacles placed on your business operations.

?As social partners we emphasize with you and consciously will collaborate with you to ensure you retain and sustain footing in your operational arena and business while remaining relevant.

?However, being guardians of workers? rights, we are bound by law to ensure that our members work in a convivial environment where employers make adequate provision for industrial health, safety and welfare of the employees in accordance with labour laws and conventions.

?It is in the light of this consideration and in view of your company?s excellent pedigree, that I have been instructed to request a Union/Management meeting to resolve this matter without need for further needless litigation.

?Consequent to the foregoing, I am further directed to propose December 6th 2024 as date of this meeting at a venue of your convenience.? (Vanguard)

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