The President General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Adewale Adeyanju has commended the management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for creating the platform for sustained labour stability in the entire maritime sector.

Adeyanju gave this commendation when national officers of the union paid a courtesy visit to the NIMASA management in Lagos, saying that as soon as the Agency midwifed and ensured compliance to the National Judicial Industrial Council (NJIC) agreement, there has been no rift in the industry.

“NIMASA has ensured that there is mutual understanding between workers and terminal operators. The era of picketing is over. We are indeed very grateful to Dr. (Dakuku) Peterside and his management team for creating stability at our ports, terminals and jetties.”

While speaking at the event, NIMASA Director General, Peterside assured the Nigerian maritime workers that the Agency would not shy away from its roles and responsibilities in ensuring that their welfare was guaranteed, as the growth and development of the sector depended on their participation and contributions.

The DG, who further reiterated the Agency’s commitment to engaging in meaningful and promising programmes geared towards maritime workers' welfare, also called on the union members to always apply dialogue when addressing issues and shun confrontation, which he noted to be counterproductive in any engagement or input.

In his words: “Let me assure you that NIMASA is a home to every maritime worker. From the advent of this Administration, we have noted that you believe in dialogue and not confrontation in dealing with issues as they pertain to our operational relationship. We believe that human element is the greatest asset in our quest to ensure the growth and development of our maritime sector. Without human element, our equipment and other resources are useless.”

Peterside acknowledged the complementary and symbiotic roles maritime workers, seafarers and dockworkers play in the life of any nation’s maritime sector, and pledged to deploy resources within the Agency’s enabling capabilities to support the growth of the nation’s human maritime capacity.

•Photo shows NIMASA DG, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, presenting the Voyage Magazine-a publication of NIMASA- to the President General, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Comrade AdewaleAdeyanju, while the Executive Director Maritime Labour and Cabotage Service, Mr. Gambo Ahmed (R) and Director, Maritime Labour Services, Ibrahim Jibril (L) looks on.

Update news