Economic waste: ITF bemoans dearth of seafarers in Africa despite NIMASA’s multi-billion naira NSDP.
...Merchant Navy seeks ITF support to unionism more companies
Segun Oladipupo
The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) expressed shock over the dearth of seafarers in Nigeria despite over 3,000 seafarers that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) spent billions of tax payers’ money to train in different countries of the world.
Recall that the National Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP) was an initiative of the apex Maritime regulatory agency to address the dearth of certified seafarers in the Nigerian maritime industry.
The program has produced over 3,000 graduates in different Maritime studies since its commencement in 2008.
But reacting to the low impact recorded with the NSDP project, Africa Regional Secretary of ITF, Muhammed Safiyanu, who raised concerns about the low number of seafarers from the continent, lamented that the figures of seamen has been discouraging.
Safiyanu disclosed this when he accompanied Mrs Barning Annica Marie, the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) London, Project Coordinator on Maritime Affiliate Support project (MAS) for ITF, who paid a working visit to the national secretariat of the Nigerian Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association (NMNOWTSSA) on Tuesday in Lagos.
He affirmed that only 78,000 seafarers are of the Africa extraction despite the over one million registered seafarers globally.
Safiyanu who decried the poor number of seafarers representation from the Africa continent against the background of the million sailors worldwide, raised concerns of the high number of graduates from the NSDP project by NIMASA and their sudden disappearance from the international scene.
He said that the Africa seafarers figure is not a enough to that of Indian sailors let alone of Asia as a continent.
According to him, the development was politically driven on the international front but added that the seafarers unions and government of Nigeria should go back to the drawing board and promote policies that will encourage seamen get unlimited certification against the backdrop of limited certificates issued to them .
“Where are the hundreds of seafarers trained by NIMASA. Where are they? He queried,
The ITF official reiterated that the limited Certificate of Competence (CoC) obtained by Nigerians is a clear indication of the seafarers’ scope of participation professionally.
He called on the two affiliate unions in Nigeria – namely, the Maritime Workers’Union of Nigeria MWUN and the Nigerian Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association (NMNOWTSSA).
“How can we sit with the government and share the potentials of seafarers. Why must they get licenses with limited certificate? It is a clear indication that we have killed ourselves,” he lamented.
On her part, Mrs Annica commended the two unions for the collaboration to protecting seafarers’ living conditions in Nigeria.
Annica expressed commitment to the actualisation of the MAS project in Nigeria, even as she called on the union for synergy.
Speaking, Secretary General, the Nigerian Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association (NMNOWTSSA), Comrade John Okpono Aleakhue called on ITF to show solidarity support about moves to unionise more organisations.
The Secretary General affirmed that the Trade Union Congress TUC affiliate has a good working relationship with MWUN on issues bothering on seafarers locally and internationally.
Aleakhue commended the ITF representatives from London for the visit to the national secretariat of the union ,noting that seafarers welfare has remained paramount .
President General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria ( MWUN) under the leadership of Comrade (Prince) Dr. Adewale Adeyanju, also commended Mrs Annica for finding time to visit Nigeria for the very first time since being the Coordinator of the MAS project and also acknowledging the tremendous roles she has being playing on behalf of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria in respect of the MAS project in country.
Adeyanju who is the Vice President ITF Global, Executive Board Member ITF Global, and Chairman ITF Africa, said ”The MAS project has been described as very significant in the lives of the Nigerian Seafarers, which also stands to better the lots of the Union in terms of increase in membership; for a better negotiation on Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with affiliate companies to the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, which will bring about a minimum standard of remuneration across board for all Seafarers in Nigeria, that is the NJIC, where Seafarers salaries are paid in hard currency (Dollars).
“This project had also put the country’s Seafarers as the highest paid globally. The project is also making sure that Seafarers get their certificate of competence seamlessly from NIMASA amongst others.”
