Warns of Severe Sanctions On Dock Labour Infractions

Amidst speculations and even altercations on the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund, CVFF, the Executive Director Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, MLSC, Engr. Victor Ochei has declared without equivocation that the Hon. Minister of Transportation Engr. Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, has the power to disburse the fund any time he decides to do so.

Speaking with our correspondent on the sidelines of the launch/flag off of the Dock workers E-Platform activated by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, in Lagos, the ED, MLSC, said the CVFF is under the minister’s purview.

“The Minister has the power to disburse the fund, there should be no debate on that, the law is very clear and there is no ambiguity whatsoever. If the Minister decides to disburse the fund today, he can, it is his prerogative. The CVFF is under his supervision/control. What we are doing is to make inputs and suggestions because it is the good of the industry that we all want”

Asked about the selected Primary Lending Institutions, Engr. Ochei said, the PLIs are banks, they are there and that is not an issue. The minister can use them or discard them and select other banks or he can decide to use bank, A, B, C or D, as he deems fit.

“There are provisions of the Act which we cannot flout, for instance, the law says any beneficiary from the Fund must provide 15% of the sum applied for, 25% provided by the bank as guarantor while NIMASA provides the remaining 60%.”

“If the bank is guaranteeing your loan it means it can keep the loan and dictate what you do and how you do it/when. This, in our view restrict the beneficiary considerably and shackles his operational capacity. This among other issues are the concerns we are contending with and seeking solutions for. The past experiences are not very pleasant and we cannot afford such ugly incidences reoccurring in our time”

“I know that the reality and the practicability of the disbursement of the fund is a bit tricky and utmost care must be taken so that beneficiaries benefit and the industry gains when the fund is disbursed”.

Like I said earlier, the Minister has the power, he has the authority and it is within his purview to disburse the fund. He means well for the industry. He is consulting, engaging stakeholders and listening so there is nothing to worry about” the Executive Director said.

Engr. Victor Ochei
Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services.

Dock Labour

On the deployed E-Platform and Biometric capturing of dockworkers,  Engr. Victor Ochei who is also Chairman of the National Joint Industrial Council, NJIC, said the flag off is part of the ongoing automation of operational processes of NIMASA.

“Any terminal operator or anyone who employs outside the registered pool of Dockworker duly captured and registered in the E-Platform is liable to a fine of N1m per person engaged for any sort of work. The terminal or facility where such illegal employment happened is also liable to a fine of N.5m, the law is also very clear on this provision”.

“We are redefining dock labour by professionalizing the work they do and the role they play in the port industry. They cannot be undermined, we value and appreciate dock workers wherever they work in the country”. We are capturing all their details including their blood group so that we can respond adequately in case of accidents”

“If you recall, I said during the flag off that we are setting career paths for dock workers to enable them grow and progress in their work. They should progress and not stagnate because if you have worked for three, four years or more, such a persons should not be at the same level with someone who is just coming on board. These are the things we are looking at and working on” Engr. Ochei said.

The Executive Director Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, stated during the flagged off of dock workers e-platform that the biometric identification card will recognize an individual (dock worker) based on their physical and behavioral traits, such as Finger Prints, Eye Retina, Iris-scanning, Voice Recognition, Facial Patens and Body Movement which includes gait.

He noted that in line with this, the Dockworkers verification exercise is to ensure that only physically fit Dockworkers are retained in the industry and those with health challenges or old are disengaged and replaced where necessary.