The Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has raised an alarm over the invasion of five shipping companies today by agents who claimed to be from the Federal Committee on Competition and Consumer Protection.
MWUN in a statement issued in Lagos on Monday by it’s President General, Comrade Prince Adewale Adeyanju informed that the agents from the Federal Committee on Competition and Consumer Protection escorted by heavily armed Policemen and Army personnel invaded the workplaces of her members in COSCO Shipping, Hullblyth, CMA/CGM, LANSAL and Hapag Llyod and proceeded to unleash mayhem on innocent working members of the union.
The statement said, ” They seized their personal phones without any justification and held them hostage against their will and refused them movement outside their various offices.”
It noted that while they were not against government agencies doing their work, they believed that laid down procedures should be followed.
“Our enquiries at the Shippers’ Council which is the regulating agency for all shipping companies indicate that they we not informed nor aware of this invasion of our members’ workplaces. Secondly, we do not also believe that any category of worker should be subjected to this inhuman treatment without any just cause or prior information”, the statement said.
The statement further disclosed that the union asked that invasion of her members’ workplaces and keeping of her members hostage be immediately discontinued and investigated by the appropriate authority for the sake of industrial harmony at the ports.
“Note that should this kind of invasion of our work places continue without due process, the union will be forced to withdraw the services of it’s members”, the statement said.
Photo: Comrade Prince Adewale Adeyanju, President General, Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN).
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