Strike By Maritime Workers Suspended Until Wednesday, Ports to See Total Shutdown

A three-day warning strike announced by the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), has been suspended until Wednesday, Dec 9 to "sensitise other stakeholders", as ports in the country face a total shutdown.

Other stakeholders like the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) have voiced their support of the proposed strike action.

The strike suspension, according to the President of MWUN, Adeyanju Adewale, was spurred by stakeholders who say that the decision had been "too sudden" and that they needed "time to prepare".

Adewale said, “We have decided to put the warning strike on hold till Wednesday December 9, to sensitise other stakeholders in the ports why we have to embark on the warning strike. 

“Since the information became public, many of them have been calling and begging for time. They insisted that they are not against our action because the seemingly intractable gridlock is also affecting them and that they are indeed in total support of our planned action. 

“But they said it is too sudden and pleaded that we give them time to prepare. So, we have decided to give them two days to prepare. Consequently, the warning strike will now start on Wednesday, December 9, instead of tomorrow (today) as earlier resolved.”

State of Access Roads

In a joint statement by stakeholders, the attention of the government was called to the poor roads that lead to the seaports.

The government is urged to take necessary actions to fix the access roads to prevent "the continuous and unnecessary deaths".

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It stated, “The National Executive Council, NEC, in-Session wishes to draw the attention of the Federal Government once again to the deplorable state of the access roads to the Lagos seaports, and the dangers this pose to lives and properties. 

“To avoid the continuous and unnecessary deaths as well as loss of man hours on the failed roads, the NEC-in-session calls on the Federal Government and the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, to urgently fix the access roads and make them motorable.

“The NEC in-session unanimously approves the Central Working Committee, CWC, recommendation that the union proceeds on a three-day warning strike to bring to the public space our disappointment over the total neglect of the access roads to Lagos ports by successive government and the urgent need for government to repair the roads.”