After a decade of paying billions of naira as wages and allowances of un-ascertained number of tally clerks and on-board security engaged by Stevedoring companies on vessels berthing in the nation’s ports, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has finally got ministerial relief from making further payments to the dockworkers.
We gathered that the relief came to the NPA as the minister of transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, during a meeting with representatives of the NPA, top ministry officials, port concessionaires, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) and stevedoring companies formally approved NPA’s plan to terminate relationship with stevedoring contractors handling the tally clerks and on-board security.
This means a relief of over N900 million paid to unverified 5,000 dockworkers annually.
The NPA had in November last year, indicated that it would pull out from paying the wages of tally clerks as it was no longer in the business of managing the seaports.
Since port concession in 2006, the dockworkers have been in the habit of holding the NPA to ransom over the non-payment of their wages, embarking and threatening to embark on industrial action to cripple the activities of the ports.
Under the current port management model, the NPA maintains the landlord status, providing and maintaining common user seaport infrastructure, such as the channels, buoys and providing technical regulation, with port concessionaires in direct commercial management of the ports.
Amaechi, at the meeting, however, directed the NPA to pay the affected stevedoring companies all outstanding money due to them in the next two weeks.
In explaining its position, the NPA had emphasised that that its responsibility on payment to dockworkers and tally clerk ceased with the commencement of the present concession regime from 2006 when it was relieved of the direct port management functions which were taken over by the concessionaires.
Such jobs as cargo handling operations, dock labour management and development and maintenance of terminal super structure are no longer with the NPA.
NPA’s general manager, Public Affairs, Captain Iheanacho Ebubeogu, said the authority’s refusal to renew the stevedoring companies’ contract was in line with the current port reforms and laws governing activities at the ports.
“It is no more the responsibility of NPA but terminal operators according to International Ship and Ports Facility Security (ISPS) code to employ security details on board,” he explained.
“Paying for on-board security is against our own law at NPA, because this is not a thing you do on sympathy because if you are held you go for it.
“For tally clerks, NIMASA regulates them. If the terminal operators that handle cargo want the services of those contractors, they will employ their services and tally clerk also. NPA does not employ tally clerks again,” Ebubeogu said.
Before the meeting convened by the Minister in Abuja on Thursday, the unspecified number of affected stevedoring companies had stepped up their lobby to arm-twist NPA into rescinding the December 15, 2015 termination of their contracts. The organisation’s leadership however refused to budge despite series of petitions against it.
Source: Leadership
We gathered that the relief came to the NPA as the minister of transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, during a meeting with representatives of the NPA, top ministry officials, port concessionaires, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) and stevedoring companies formally approved NPA’s plan to terminate relationship with stevedoring contractors handling the tally clerks and on-board security.
This means a relief of over N900 million paid to unverified 5,000 dockworkers annually.
The NPA had in November last year, indicated that it would pull out from paying the wages of tally clerks as it was no longer in the business of managing the seaports.
Since port concession in 2006, the dockworkers have been in the habit of holding the NPA to ransom over the non-payment of their wages, embarking and threatening to embark on industrial action to cripple the activities of the ports.
Under the current port management model, the NPA maintains the landlord status, providing and maintaining common user seaport infrastructure, such as the channels, buoys and providing technical regulation, with port concessionaires in direct commercial management of the ports.
Amaechi, at the meeting, however, directed the NPA to pay the affected stevedoring companies all outstanding money due to them in the next two weeks.
In explaining its position, the NPA had emphasised that that its responsibility on payment to dockworkers and tally clerk ceased with the commencement of the present concession regime from 2006 when it was relieved of the direct port management functions which were taken over by the concessionaires.
Such jobs as cargo handling operations, dock labour management and development and maintenance of terminal super structure are no longer with the NPA.
NPA’s general manager, Public Affairs, Captain Iheanacho Ebubeogu, said the authority’s refusal to renew the stevedoring companies’ contract was in line with the current port reforms and laws governing activities at the ports.
“It is no more the responsibility of NPA but terminal operators according to International Ship and Ports Facility Security (ISPS) code to employ security details on board,” he explained.
“Paying for on-board security is against our own law at NPA, because this is not a thing you do on sympathy because if you are held you go for it.
“For tally clerks, NIMASA regulates them. If the terminal operators that handle cargo want the services of those contractors, they will employ their services and tally clerk also. NPA does not employ tally clerks again,” Ebubeogu said.
Before the meeting convened by the Minister in Abuja on Thursday, the unspecified number of affected stevedoring companies had stepped up their lobby to arm-twist NPA into rescinding the December 15, 2015 termination of their contracts. The organisation’s leadership however refused to budge despite series of petitions against it.
Source: Leadership
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