The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, has directed employees of shipping companies in all ports formations today to begin an indefinite strike over poor wages and dehumanizing working conditions.

The industrial action is also taking place across all dry ports, jetties, terminals across the country.

Dockworkers, Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, workers and Seamen/Nigerian Inland Water Ways, NIWA and Water Transportation employees will join from tomorrow(Tuesday) in solidarity should the shipping companies fail to address the workers’ grievances.

The Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC, immediately summoned a stakeholders’ meeting in a desperate attempt to resolve the matter and ensure that the industrial crisis does not lead to a total shutdown of the nation’s ports.

Recall that at a briefing Thursday in Lagos, President General of MWUN, Prince Adewale Adeyanju explained that the strike was due to poor remuneration of workers and the refusal of shipping companies operating in Nigeria to agree on a minimum standards for working conditions and remuneration of staff.

Adeyanju lamented that the NSC seemed to have totally lost its control and regulatory powers over the shipping companies who have refused to obey the federal government interventions on the matter.

According to him, the matter had been dragging for the past six years, and the shipping companies have refused to implement a minimum standard for shipping companies’ workers.

According to him, “The former Minister of Transportation, Muazu Sambo had directed the NSC to midwife the process between MWUN and Shipping Association of Nigeria SAN.