Merchant Navy officers charge NIMASA DG, Mobereola to address wage disparity between foreign and indigenous seafarers
Merchant Navy officers charge NIMASA DG, Mobereola to address wage disparity between foreign and indigenous seafarers
Segun Oladipupo
The Nigeria Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association (NMNOWTSSA) has called on the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dayo Mobereola to wade into the issue of wage disparity between foreign and indigenous seafarers onboard vessels, despite the same job description and qualifications .
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) affiliate body, also called on NIMASA to join the maritime politics by signing bilateral agreement with maritime nations, as part of measures towards engaging Nigerian seafarers globally.
Citing Ghana example, the union that the West African country has more than 15 multilateral agreements with maritime nations of the world.
Speaking at the stakeholders’ event tagged FACE TO FACE WITH DG in Lagos recently, the Secretary General of the union, Comrade John Okpono Aleakhue, on behalf of the NMNOWTSSA National President, C/Engr. BOB Joseph Yousuo, decried the wide disparity among the seafarers’ thus, urging the apex maritime regulatory agency to address the anomaly.
According to him, payment of Nigerian seafarers are incomparable with their foreign counterparts an issue that demands urgent attention of the Agency, NIMASA.
Lamenting on the ill treatment of some ship owners on Nigerian sailors, Aleakhue noted that:”Wage disparity and poor wages is a big issue begging for the attention of the regulator, NIMASA.
His words, “Therefore we are calling on NIMASA to look at the issue on the ground because the Cabotage act speaks volumes to that effect.”Aleakhue lamented.
He stated that seafarers needed class one and class two respectively, to compete with their counterparts onboard ships, campaigning that wages and salaries of the seafarers’ onboard such vessels should not have a wide gap.
“We are aware that the foreign seafarers should earn slightly above the indigenous seafarers as a result of foreign allowances.”
The Union scribe further lamented that the negligence of Nigerians seafarers’ onboard vessels have been alarming, even as he advised management of NIMASA through the Executive Director Cabotage Services to prioritize issues on the Certificate of Competence (CoC) obtained by the seafarers’ .
He opined that the cabotage regime that ought to have been a blessing is now otherwise as waivers have taken the jobs met for Nigerian SEAFARERS to the hands of foreign seafarers. He urged the DG to look at the issue of waivers with eagle eyes.
