… Say over 11,000 will lose jobs
The Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has warned the Federal Government against the termination of the contract between Imtels Nigeria Limited and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
Rather, the union wants the federal government to prevail on the NPA to resolve its dispute with the oil and gas logistics giant to avoid throwing more people into the labour market.
According to the union, over 11,000 people working with the organisation presently may be thrown into the labour market.
President-general of MWUN, Adewale Adeyanju, while appealing to government to resolve the dispute, said it could also hinder investors from coming into the country, if not resolved soon.
The NPA terminated its boats pilotage monitoring and supervision agreement with Intels on October 11 purportedly because of the company’s alleged failure to comply with the policy on Treasury Single Account (TSA).
According to Adeyanju, the union, as part of organised labour, is concerned about the job security and welfare of its members in Intels.
“Today, we are aware that Intels has over 5,000 direct employees and over 6,000 indirect employees, which makes it up to 11,000 workers.
“Most of these employees are Nigerians with families and responsibilities. We are worried that, if this issue is not resolved amicably, their jobs can be on the line,” he said.
Adeyanju stated that socio-economic implication of most of the workers losing their jobs in a volatile area like Rivers would have far-reaching negative implications. He said the union was also worried over the negative message the contract cancellation would send to investors locally and internationally.
“We want to advise the government to avoid anything that will send wrong signals to investors that Nigeria’s environment is not safe and conducive for business,” the union leader said.
The MWUN president-general appealed to government, through the NPA, to resolve the issues immediately to ensure that calm is restored at the ports.