29th December, 2023
By Isa Isawade
The over 5000 aggrieved Maritime workers who were ordered removed from the Seaport in the year 2000 by the then Minister of Transportation, Chief Ojo Maduweke, are upbeat that the recent conciliatory meeting facilitated by the Ministry of Labour and Employment will bear fruits.
This feeling was conveyed during the press briefing the union held on Dec. 26, 2023, where its executives informed the public that their members and those currently occupying their positions were invited to the meeting held on Dec. 24 for conciliation likely to lead to resolution of the 23-year-old crisis.
However, the group bemoaned the decision of the leadership of the union currently occupying their offices not to honour the invitation, saying the other party refused to show up at the meeting.
President of the group, Comrade Jacob Udor Egeboni said that in March 2023, the Ministry of Labour and Employment invited them alongside the representatives of the Bureau of African Labour, Human and Democratic Rights (BALHADER) and the other party led by Comrade Adewale Adeyanju to a “Conciliation Meeting” but Adeyanju’s team failed to show up.
The Registrar of Trade Unions, Mr. Amos Falonipe reportedly confirmed that he equally sent an invitation to Comrade Adewale Adeyanju and his executives to attend the meeting aimed at resolving the protracted crisis.
Falonipe reportedly condemned the process that led to the removal of the aggrieved union members and indicated the government’s readiness to recall the wrongly removed Executive members and set up a caretaker committee to manage the affairs of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN).
The union, therefore, reiterated their demands which include compensation and reinstatement as the final meeting is billed to hold in Abuja soon.