20 Shipping Company Leaves Nigeria, Over 3,000 Workers Dismissed | Nigeria Newspaper - Latest Nigeria News paper

26.8.16

20 Shipping Company Leaves Nigeria, Over 3,000 Workers Dismissed

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Over 20 shipping companies have left Nigerian shores due to intense hardship provoked by poor government policies and global economic crunch.
According to Dockworkers Union of Nigeria (DUN), over 3,000 workers have been already laid off by various shipping firms, terminal operations and logistic firms, due to the lack of financing and poor import policies of the Federal Government.

Also, the dismissed workers have said the inability of the Federal Government to meet its joint venture obligation with the international oil companies which are major partners with the marine logistic companies, is responsible for the massive retrenchment.
According to Guardian, Mitsui  O.S.K Line, Nippon Yusen Kasha, Taiwan’s Evergreen Line, Messina Line, Hapag-Lloyd and God Star Line (GSL) are some of the companies that have left the nation’s shore due to losses caused by declining volumes.
The President of DUN, Anthony Emmanuel Nted, on Thursday, August 25, 2016, lamented the poor state of the work environment in the  maritime industry.
Nted disclosed that due to government import policy, 20 companies have left the Nigerian borders.
He explained that Nigeria cannot suddenly ban the importation of the main goods being generally consumed within the country, as it is import-dependent.
He said: “Hence, the current government policy on importation though with the best intention seems to be wreaking more havoc on the economy and ought to be reviewed urgently.”
At a briefing the President of the Union urged President Muhammadu Buhari to salvage the situation, so as to prevent the industry from collapse.
He also warned that many more companies are on the verge of leaving as well as they were only doing skeletal services at the moment.
“Today, we lament the action of the management of Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, in also planning to sack a section of the Dockworkers, especially the Tally Clerks and Onboard Security men in spite of their importance and relevance in the Port operations, as it affects the re-occurring scourge of tonnage under declaration and its negative impact on the nation’s economy.
“The leakage of revenue through under declaration of tonnage should be seriously tackled. In this regard, we reiterate that Tally Clerks and Onboard Security men should be allowed to continue the critical job of uncovering and discouraging under tonnage which is often done with the unholy collaboration of NPA, shipping companies, agents and terminal operators.
“The Tally Clerks and onboard security men are capable of preventing these economic crimes as they were doing through their independent and physical tallying process.
“Over 2000 workers(Tally clerks and onboard security men) are involved. Their reinstatement will go a long way in reducing the number of unemployed Nigerians, and also reducing the misery of their families,” he continued.
On behalf of the Union, Nted demanded:
“All access roads to the ports as a matter of urgency, should be expanded and rehabilitated to handle cargo traffic in the ports. The traditional rail operations in our seaports should be restored to reduce the pressure on our highways and daily fatal accidents and deaths from containers.
“Waterways should be developed for delivery of laden containers and heavy equipment through our coastal waters into the hinterland.
“The tank-farms which are now dangerously located close to the ports, residential areas and along the expressways and access roads close to the ports should be relocated far away from the seaports to stave-off the perennial gridlocks on the roads.
“The volume of vehicles imported into Nigeria through Nigerian ports has collapsed to an all-time low, with consequent loss of thousands of jobs in the maritime sector.
“The new duty regime for vehicles introduced since 2004 and application of the new rate of exchange rate for duty calculations have made the importation of cars and trucks into Nigeria far too expensive. In the last two years, the number of vehicles arriving Nigeria has shrunk by almost two thirds, while the volume of cars smuggled through the Cotonou Border has continued to rise unabated.
“It is therefore necessary that the Federal Government reviews its stance on the automotive policy so as not to inflict any more suffering on the workers who are already having a hard time with price increases every day.
“The federal government should look at making the importation of cars and trucks more competitive to enable the economy to grow.
“A significant reduction in the duties applicable on cars and trucks will go a long way in alleviating the challenges of our people and spur economic activities.
“Government should as a matter of urgency adopt policies towards resuscitating the export of agricultural produces and mineral resources that were hitherto the mainstay of the Nigerian economy before the discovery of oil. This will no doubt create jobs in our seaports and increase revenue for the government.”

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