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MWUN Sounds Alarm on Non-Compliance to Safety Standards in Non-Oil Sector
By Our Correspondent
The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has taken a bold step to address the lingering safety concerns in the non-oil sector, declaring a state of emergency to tackle the issues of inadequate safety provisions and non-compliance to standards by stevedores and terminal operators.
The alarming rise of accidents and casualties in the non-oil sector can be attributed to.
This negligence, MWUN informed, has resulted in an unacceptable rate of avoidable deaths and permanent injuries among our members, who are exposed daily to the hazardous nature of port operations. One amongst many of such avoidable accidents occurred on 25 December 2024 at berth 9, Tincan Island Port, whence Com. Kazeem Adeshina was crushed to death due to negligence on the path of his employer.
Despite repeated calls for improved safety measures, many operators have failed to adequately provide critical safety infrastructure such as personal protective equipment (PPE), communication gadgets, first aid kits, ambulances, and trained safety officers in operational areas. This lack of compliance with basic safety protocols endangers not only the lives of our members but also the efficiency and sustainability of the maritime industry.
MWUN condemns in totality this disregard for human lives and safety, which has led to the needless loss of our members and placed their families in perpetual sorrow. “We cannot continue to tolerate a system where the safety and well-being of workers are treated as secondary considerations.
As a responsible union, we hereby declare a state of emergency on non-provision of safety materials and personnel and lack of compliance to safety standards and protocols by stevedores engaged by terminal operators in all seaports, terminals, jetties and oil and gas platforms and call on all concerned government agencies to take note and act accordingly as failure to enforce safety standards which leads to avoidable accidents in ports operation will elicit the withdrawal of the services of our members from all port activities nation – wide.
