Strike clouds fade away as CRFFN pays staff salary arrears

The clouds of strike threat gathering over seaport operations in Nigeria faded away on Thursday October 24 as the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) announced that the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) paid five months, out of seven month salary arrears, owed its staff.

The MWUN, last week, had threatened to call all its members working in the ports, jetties, and all oil platforms to embark on a strike to force the CRFFN management to pay its staff members who are members of the union.

The MWUN had received a lot of backlash over the strike threat, especially from the leaders of Africa Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON) who saw the strike threat as the one taken too far. APFFLON knocked the MWUN leaders for taking every slight opportunity to declare strike without considering its damaging impact on the national economy and private business concerns in and around the port.

The MWUN President General, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, commended the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, for his timely intervention that prompted quick payment of the salary arrears, noting that the intervention demonstrated his unwavering commitment to workers’ welfare in the maritime sector.

Thanking the Acting Registrar of the CRFFN for cooperating with the union and seeing to the payment of the salary arrears, the President General urged the CRFFN management to settle the remaining two months’ outstanding salaries as soon as possible.

Adeyanju urged the minister to facilitate quick payment of the balance, two month salary arrears.