NIMASA Calls For Contributory Pension For Dockworkers
By Sulaimon Salau
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has called on all employers of labor in the marine and blue economy sector to ensure all dockworkers are enrolled on contributory pension schemes.
NIMASA Director General, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, who made this call at its ‘Day of the Dockworker’ in Lagos recently, emphasised the need for operators of Oil and Gas Terminals to allow only approved stevedores aboard their installations, to ensure compliance with relevant international guidelines and conventions.
Recall that the Shipping Correspondents Association of Nigeria (SCAN) held the maiden edition of Dock Workers’ Day in Lagos in September 2023, setting the tone for improved welfare of the dockworkers.
Jamoh said: “As we celebrate today, it is important to put in perspective the plight of dockworkers who spend the greater part of their working life at the ports, with little or nothing to show for it. As employers of labour, you must endeavour to put in place a Contributory Pension Scheme for dockworkers and ensure prompt remittances of both employers and employees contributions at the end of each month”.
Speaking on compliance with stevedore inspections, he stated, “This occasion presents me with an opportunity to express the need for operators in the private jetties and Oil & Gas Terminals to grant operational access to the Stevedoring Contractors appointed by the Honorable Minister of Transport, to carry out stevedoring activities in assigned operational areas”.
On his part, the President General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, thanked the NIMASA management for organizing the event to celebrate Nigerian dockworkers in recognition of the important role played by them.
Internationally, July 7th is marked as ‘The Global Day of Action’ and is organized by the International Dockworkers’ Council (IDC) and International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF). It aims to raise awareness of port working conditions and emphasize the importance of collective bargaining rights.
Meanwhile, NIMASA, and the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN have begun discussions on how to resolve the lingering issue of terminal benefits of Seafarers whose appointments were terminated due to the liquidation of the defunct Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL).
Jamoh and Adeyanju, jointly announced an agreement for physical verification of the affected seafarers/next of kin as the case may apply; the nature of appointment of all affected seafarers, and the exact amount due each beneficiary.
