The Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has joined the indefinite nationwide strike in Nigeria which started on Monday, June 3, 2024, in response to the directive from the country’s main labour unions, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
This strike has been called due to the Federal Government’s failure to find a solution for the national minimum wage negotiations and its refusal to reverse the hike in electricity tariffs.
The unions want the current minimum monthly wage of 30,000 naira (US$20) to be increased to 494,000 naira (US$336). The government has offered 60,000 naira (US$40), saying the demands were unreasonable.
Consequently, maritime workers announced a halt of operations across all ports, jetties, terminals, and oil & gas platforms nationwide.
The impact on Nigerian ports is expected to be profound. All maritime activities, including the loading and unloading of cargo, processing of shipments, and other port-related services, will come to a complete stop. The suspension of operations will disrupt both domestic and international trade, leading to significant delays in the supply chain.
“The indefinite nationwide strike has become very imperative, given the failure of the Federal Government on the logjam and the inconclusive national minimum wage negotiation and refusal to reverse the hard biting hike in electricity tariff,” MWUN said in a statement.
“In view of the foregoing, the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria has directed its members in all ports nationwide, jetties, terminals, oil & gas platforms to effectively ensure the total compliance of the strike as directed by the NLC and TUC. This is also to serve as notice to all our concerned stakeholders in the Maritime sector.”
According to Kuehne+Nagel, APM Terminals, operators of Onne and Apapa ports, revealed that all terminal operations will be suspended until the strike is over.
Operations at the ports of Lagos and Tincan are affected as well, resulting in significant delays in cargo clearance and trapping goods at the ports.
Local media reports that the disruption has led to mounting demurrage and storage charges for cargo owners, who are unable to clear their goods, while port workers, customs agents, and truck drivers have been denied entry. The strike is imposing substantial financial burdens on businesses due to the high costs of demurrage and storage fees, compounded by the already high tariffs and exchange rate challenges.
“The strike is ongoing and it is indefinite, affecting all ports in the country including Warri, Port Harcourt, and Onne,” Ibrahim Ohize, president of the Dockworkers branch of MWUN, said, as reported by BusinessDay, adding that vessels are not allowed to berth and no trucks are permitted to go in or leave the port.
The strike has resulted in the shutdown of the national electrical grid and a nationwide blackout. The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said on Monday that operators were driven away from control rooms and that power generating stations were forced to shut down. Local airline Ibomair said that all flights were suspended due to the nationwide strike until further notice.
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