Posted by By Eromosele Ebhomele on
The Professional Seafarers Association of Nigeria is set to engage the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Maritime Workers Union (MAWUN) over allegations of corruption and refusal to recognize it as a union.
The Professional Seafarers Association of Nigeria is set to engage the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Maritime Workers Union (MAWUN) over allegations of corruption and refusal to recognize it as a union.
The association blamed the inability of its members to secure jobs in the maritime sector on Mr. A. I. Baba of NIMASA and Comrade P. G. Irabor of the Maritime Workers Union.
According to the association, Irabor, who is the President-General of MWUN, has succeded in persuading prospective employers not to deal with the association since it broke away from MWUN.
The Seafarers Association, led by its National Co-ordinator, Comrade Frank Otunyo, claimed that Mr. Irabor had tried to extort money from employers of his members but failed.
He also cited the case of John Meredith, whom Irabor allegedly demanded money from in London over a meeting he was scheduled to hold on their behalf.
'If you go through the gate now, you will see hundreds of our colleagues without job. They are well trained, yet they idle away because of what Irabor and Alhaji Baba have done.
'We have written severally to them to recognise us, work on our welfare packages and treat us like human beings but our people have continue to die out of poverty caused by these people and they are not even compensated,' Comrade Otunyo stated.
He told P.M.News that his association was set for war because his colleagues have agreed to seek redress in the court of law. When contacted on phone, Comrade Irabor claimed that the Professional Seafarers Association was an illegal body trying to operate a shadow union.
'The association was formed out of greed. Comrade Otunyo contested an election and lost. He decided to form an illegal association,' he told P.M.News.
When told that the association was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, Irabor said the commission had right to register a trade union, adding that they had earlier been deregistered by the Labour Union and Trade Union Congress.