PRESS RELEASE:

MWUN: SHIPPING BRANCH PRESIDENT, COMRADE ABASS FROWNS AT CASUALIZATION OF WORKERS AT THE MARITME SECTOR

The Shipping Branch President of the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Olufemi Oluyinka Abass, has frowned at Captains of industries at the Shipping sector and the Terminal Operators over what he referred to as casualization of workers in the maritime industry.

The soft talking but articulate Maritimer, Comrade Abass, says that what these categories of employers in the industry are doing is outsourcing of workers to contractors, who offers peanuts, by extension of practicing casual labour in the industry without consent to labour regulations.

While the Shipping sector and the Terminal Operators have consistently engaged in this cruel, viscous and callous labour practices, which of course negates labour laws and regulations, these captains of industries have continued to justify their wicked acts by increasingly embracing dehumanization and deliberately reducing the presence of Union in the maritime industry.

Comrade Abass further said that Captains of these companies have devised several strategies to achieve this “Slave Drive” ideology in the sector; hence, the Union must act fast to stop the ugly trend, and the time to act against this industrial manipulation over workers in the sector is now.

This unethical labour practices have led to the steady erosion of permanent employment as it were in the sector; saying that the perpetrators believe the ideology is economical and cost effective, by way of dehumanizing the workers; as casualizing the workers is an  ideology for them to make so much profit to the detriment of the peasant workers; while also neglecting the decent work policies as enshrined in labour laws locally and globally. He also said that the matter will be reported to top leadership of the Union where a strict action will be taken against these perpetrators to sanitize the Maritime industry for a better living work conditions.

Comrade John Kennedy Ikemefuna, Head of Media, MWUN