Maritime workers for Nigeria dey threaten to shut down all ports and jetties across the country over unpaid salaries wey don reach nine months. The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) raise alarm over the non-payment of salaries to their members wey work for the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN).
The union express frustration over the long period of unpaid salaries and warn of an impending industrial crisis if the situation no dey resolved. According to dem, MWUN don make several efforts to resolve the matter amicably through various ultimatums and mediatory meetings, but the management of CRFFN no dey listen.
The Acting Registrar of CRFFN and the management don repeatedly ignore these attempts and fail to uphold resolutions wey prioritize staff welfare. One of these resolutions stipulate say available funds should first be allocated to staff salaries before other expenses be considered, but CRFFN management no dey follow dis agreement.
MWUN criticize CRFFN for organizing selective training programs while ignoring the backlog of unpaid salaries. The union describe the attitude of CRFFN management towards the welfare of their employees as nonchalant. If the management of CRFFN no settle the outstanding salary arrears immediately, MWUN say dem go withdraw the services of their members.
This action go affect operations at the Nigerian Ports Authority, dock labor, shipping and freight forwarding agencies, and seamen across all ports, jetties, terminals, and oil and gas platforms nationwide. The union call on relevant authorities to take note of the situation and emphasize say dem can no longer tolerate what dem consider impunity by CRFFN.
Former President of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr. Eugene Nweke, also point out say over-bloated staff structure, wrong categorization, and political interference be some of the major reasons why CRFFN dey struggle to function properly. He suggest reforms like reducing the Governing Board membership and pruning down the Technical Committees to make CRFFN more efficient.
