By ONYEKACHUKWU MELUWA, Warri
In commemoration of the world’s 8th edition of the Seafarers Day which held in.Warri, Delta State, the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside on Monday reiterated the need for employers of Seafarers to ensure that they implement the contributory pension scheme for their workers.
In an address presented, Peterside said it is important because henceforth the agency will report erring employers to the Pension Commission for appropriate sanctions.
Peterside disclosed that the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC) has concluded negotiations on the conditions of service of Nigerian Seafarers including the minimum wages payable to all categories of seafarers.
“It is expected that the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) will be signed by all parties on the 28th of June, 2018.
” In this regard, I wish to assure you that is the Agency will go the whole length in ensuring that the CBA is implemented as agreed.
Peterside also called on employers to ensure the promotion of ILO’s decent work Agenda which aims at promoting the workers mental health and well being.
According to Peterside,”As an Agency saddled with the responsibility of regulating the activities of all maritime labor employers and their employees, we remain committed to making Nigeria a hub of maritime activities by ensuring that our workers are safe for navigation and the ships operating on our waters maintain a high safety standard.
“The Agency is also focusing attention on the placement of Nigerian Seafarers on board all Cabitage vessels which informed the temporary suspension of the issuance of waiver on manning through the introduction of the new Cabotage Compliance Strategy (NCCS).
Peterside noted that the policy has yielded some level of success as more Nigerians are now engaged on Cabotage vessel.
” I must mention however, that some companies have adopted negative measures to circumvent this policy by withholding information on their vessel’s operations and the submission of fake crew lists.
“In some other cases, they come up with the excuse that the Nigerian Seafarers lack the required competencies to work on board these vessels.”
