Maritime Labour and Trade Union
WABOTAN Reaffirms Commitment to Payment of Maritime Workers’ Union Dues, Calls for Collaborative Approach to ensure Waterways Safety
WABOTAN Reaffirms Commitment to Payment of Maritime Workers’ Union Dues, Calls for Collaborative Approach to ensure Waterways Safety
Boat owners association pledges continued remittance of workers’ union dues while advocating for enhanced safety measures on Nigeria’s inland waterways
The Waterfront Boat Owners and Transporters Association of Nigeria (WABOTAN) has reaffirmed its commitment to remitting boat workers’ union check-off dues to the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, while calling for a comprehensive approach to addressing safety challenges on the nation’s inland waterways.
The commitment was reiterated during a strategic meeting held on August 14, 2025, at WABOTAN’s national secretariat, bringing together the association’s Think-Tank committee and representatives from the Lagos Commercial Private Boat District of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria.
Speaking at the meeting, WABOTAN National President Mr. Babatope Fajemirokun emphasized the urgent need for collective action in addressing waterways safety challenges.
“It’s time to set the records straight in the Nigerian inland waterways of the nation,” Fajemirokun stated. “In the midst of these boat mishaps happening all around our waterways, there should be a point where we all take the necessary steps to ensure safety on our waterways.”
The meeting represents a continuation of collaborative efforts that began in May 2025, when WABOTAN’s National Executive Council paid a courtesy visit to the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria’s national secretariat for discussions with President General Comrade Francis Bunu and other national executives.
The association’s renewed commitment comes as the federal government implements recommendations from a special committee on boat accidents established by the Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy.
“On the submission of the committee report, the federal government is playing their part in curbing this ugly trend on the nation’s waterways, and the private sector must also play their roles,” Fajemirokun explained.
The WABOTAN president stressed that while associations advocate for reduced operational costs, equal attention must be paid to workers’ welfare, highlighting the crucial role of workers’ unions as the voice of maritime workers.
Fajemirokun outlined a vision for enhanced collaboration between three key stakeholders: regulatory agencies, private sector operators, and workers’ unions.
“We must jointly collaborate with the regulatory agencies, the private sector, and our workers’ union, who are the voices of the workers, to secure the waterways,” he emphasized.
A significant portion of the discussion focused on the critical need for continuous training and retraining of boat workers, with particular emphasis on making essential licensing and certifications more accessible and affordable. Fajemirokun called on the Managing Director of the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to establish a tripartite committee comprising the authority, operators, and the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria.
This proposed committee would specifically address training and retraining programs for inland waterways boat workers, including the development of affordable certification pathways that would not burden operators with excessive costs while ensuring proper skill development.
“We cannot compromise on safety, but we also recognize that expensive licensing requirements can create barriers for our workers and small-scale operators,” Fajemirokun noted. “We need certification programs that are both comprehensive and economically viable for our maritime workforce.”
The focus on affordable licensing and certification represents a recognition that safety improvements must be economically sustainable for the predominantly small-scale operators who dominate Nigeria’s inland waterways sector.
“When we make professional development affordable and accessible, we create a culture of continuous improvement that benefits everyone – workers, operators, passengers, and the entire maritime industry,” Fajemirokun emphasized.
This proposed approach to training and certification represents a proactive strategy to prevent accidents through improved human capacity while ensuring that cost considerations do not become barriers to professional development in the maritime sector.
The meeting and subsequent commitments signal a maturing approach to waterways management in Nigeria, where stakeholders are moving beyond individual interests toward collective responsibility for safety and operational excellence.
The collaboration between WABOTAN and the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria demonstrates recognition that sustainable waterways operations require balancing business interests with worker welfare and safety standards, while ensuring that professional development opportunities remain within reach of the maritime workforce. As Nigeria continues to develop its blue economy potential, such partnerships between operators, unions, and regulatory bodies may serve as a model for other maritime sectors seeking to enhance safety while maintaining operational viability through affordable and accessible professional development programs.
Maritime Labour and Trade Union
ITF Sounds Alarm at 100-Day Mark of Middle East War as Over 20,000 Seafarers Remain Stranded
ITF Sounds Alarm at 100-Day Mark of Middle East War as Over 20,000 Seafarers Remain Stranded
Global labour body demands ceasefire, crew protections and UN-led diplomacy as Persian Gulf shipping crisis deepens
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has used the 100-day milestone of the ongoing Middle East conflict to issue an urgent call for a ceasefire and the strengthening of protections for seafarers and other civilian transport workers caught in the crossfire of a war they had no part in starting.
The global maritime and transport labour federation, marking 100 days since US and Israeli strikes on Iran ignited the conflict on 28 February, described the ongoing hostilities as a war that “civilian transport workers did not start, cannot end and have paid for — with their lives, their health and their freedom.”
Seafarers Bearing the Cost of War
Transport workers across the global supply chain have been drawn into the violence. Airport staff were among the casualties of early attacks, while seafarers have faced a mounting wave of incidents at sea as hostilities spilled into some of the world’s most critical shipping lanes.
Shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf — which together facilitate roughly a fifth of global oil trade — has come under repeated assault, with vessels struck, seized and crew members killed, injured or taken into detention.
Data from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) records 42 confirmed maritime incidents in the region between 1 March and 8 June, with at least 11 seafarers confirmed dead.
The human toll extends well beyond fatalities. The ITF says more than 20,000 seafarers are currently stranded in the Persian Gulf, unable to be repatriated or rotated off vessels, effectively held in limbo by a conflict over which they have no control. The federation has received more than 2,500 requests for assistance since hostilities escalated, and says it has so far managed to facilitate the return home of over 600 seafarers.
Labour Protections Under Threat
The ITF raised particular concern over what it described as the weaponisation of force majeure clauses by some employers, alleging that certain shipping companies have invoked the legal provision to extend crew contracts beyond agreed terms, restrict onboard communications and delay the repatriation of seafarers. The federation characterised this as an exploitation of wartime conditions to erode hard-won labour protections.
The ITF demanded full and uncompromised enforcement of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), the international instrument that underpins seafarers’ rights globally. It called specifically for guaranteed crew changes, timely wage payments, unimpeded access to communication with families and the assurance of safe passage home.
Demands for Action
Beyond welfare concerns, the ITF set out a series of demands directed at governments, shipowners and international institutions. These include an immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of all detained seafarers and vessels, and respect for civilian maritime infrastructure under the established principles of international humanitarian law.
On the question of humanitarian shipping corridors, the ITF insisted that any such arrangement must operate only on the basis of binding, verified security guarantees — not ad hoc assurances — and called on the United Nations to lead urgent diplomatic efforts toward a durable resolution under the UN Charter.
Nigeria Watch
The Persian Gulf crisis carries direct and measurable implications for Nigeria’s maritime and energy sectors.
Nigeria’s crude oil exports compete in the same Asian and European markets that rely heavily on Persian Gulf supply. As shipping disruptions push war risk insurance premiums higher and complicate tanker routing, upward pressure on freight costs for Nigerian crude cargoes is an indirect but real consequence — one that port operators, commodity traders and shipping lines operating in Nigerian waters will need to monitor.
For MWUN — the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria — and the broader community of Nigerian seafarers, the ITF’s intervention is also a reminder of the value of affiliation with global labour structures. With thousands of Nigerians serving aboard vessels in international trade, the protections embedded in the Maritime Labour Convention are not abstractions. They are practical safeguards that, as events in the Persian Gulf demonstrate, can be tested — and threatened — by geopolitical forces entirely outside a seafarer’s control.
NIMASA, as Nigeria’s flag state administration and the body responsible for the welfare of Nigerian seafarers on international voyages, has both a mandate and a reputational interest in monitoring repatriation cases involving Nigerians in the affected zone, and in affirming publicly its alignment with MLC enforcement.
The ITF’s call for UN-led diplomacy also resonates with Nigeria’s long-standing posture as a proponent of multilateralism in maritime governance — a position the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy would do well to echo in appropriate international forums.
Waterways News | Lagos
Blue Economy
Oyetola, NCS President, Ex-MWUN Boss to Headline SCAN Dockworkers’ Day on Green Ports, June 4
Oyetola, NCS President, Ex-MWUN Boss to Headline SCAN Dockworkers’ Day on Green Ports, June 4
Minister, labour leaders and industry chiefs converge on Apapa to confront sustainability transition and welfare gaps facing Nigeria’s port workforce
By Ighoyota Onaibre | Waterways News Correspondent
Minister of Marine and Blue Economy Adegboyega Oyetola, Nigerian Chamber of Shipping President Aminu Umar, and former Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) President-General Adewale Adeyanju are among senior figures billed to participate in the 2026 Shipping Correspondents Association of Nigeria (SCAN) Dockworkers’ Day, scheduled for Wednesday, 4 June at Rockview Hotels, Apapa, Lagos.
The event carries the theme “Green Ports: Sustainable Practices for Dockworkers,” and is expected to drive conversations around environmentally responsible port operations, the adoption of efficiency-enhancing technologies, and the need to improve working conditions for dockworkers.
Umar is expected to deliver the keynote address, while Adeyanju — who also serves as Deputy President of the Nigeria Labour Congress — will chair the occasion. Goodwill messages are expected from the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority and the Director-General of NIMASA.
In a joint statement, SCAN President Moses Ebosele and Organising Committee Chairman Yusuf Babalola described the annual Dockworkers’ Day as a critical platform for recognising the contributions of dockworkers to the national economy, while also addressing emerging environmental and operational challenges facing Nigeria’s maritime sector.
SCAN noted that as the global maritime industry continues to evolve, there is an increasing need to equip dockworkers with the relevant skills and tools required to adapt to green port initiatives and the ongoing digital transformation of shipping operations.
Nigeria Watch
The 2026 SCAN Dockworkers’ Day arrives at a moment of sharpening tension within Nigeria’s port labour environment. The green ports agenda — however compelling in global terms — lands against a backdrop of unresolved welfare grievances on the waterfront, including the contested reinstatement of tally clerks, persistent gangway security gaps, and allegations of labour law violations by some terminal operators.
The presence of Adeyanju, now a senior NLC figure, alongside the NCS President and Minister Oyetola signals that this year’s event aspires to be more than ceremonial. Whether the forum produces actionable commitments on worker protections amid the sustainability transition — rather than consensus statements — will determine its lasting relevance to the dockworkers it claims to honour.
For the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, the event also presents an opportunity to demonstrate that its green economy narrative is not decoupled from the labour question: that the shift to cleaner, more automated ports does not accelerate workforce marginalisation. Nigeria’s port unions have so far not signalled strong opposition to green port frameworks, but the absence of formal social dialogue structures at the port level means the transition remains largely untested as a labour-management challenge.
Waterways News will be at Rockview Hotels, Apapa on 4th of June.
CRFFN, MWUN Seal Strategic Alliance, Union Presses Federal Government on Workers’ Welfare
By Ighoyota Onaibre | Waterways News Correspondent
The Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) and the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) have taken a significant step toward deeper institutional collaboration, with both bodies pledging to work more closely on trade facilitation, professional standards in freight forwarding, and the welfare of workers across Nigeria’s maritime sector.
The commitment was made during a courtesy visit by members of the MWUN National Executive Council to CRFFN’s Lagos headquarters on Monday, where they met with the Council’s Registrar/CEO, Mr. Kingsley Igwe.
Igwe used the occasion to praise the leadership of MWUN President General, Comrade Francis Bunu, commending the union’s district officers who interface with CRFFN for their professionalism and cooperative spirit. He noted that the working relationship between both organisations had been productive and deserved to be formalised at a higher level.
MWUN PG, Comrade Francis Abi Bunu and CRFFN Registrar/CEO, Mr. Kingsley Igwe
The CRFFN chief gave an update on the Council’s reform drive over the past 18 months, disclosing that efforts to reposition freight forwarding practice along global standards had yielded concrete results. He said a digitalization initiative was underway to modernise freight forwarding operations and integrate the sector into the National Single Window platform. More than 500 freight forwarders have so far been verified under the programme, he said, while a formal licensing regime aligned with international best practices has also been introduced.
Igwe further disclosed that CRFFN had set up a complaint desk to handle disputes involving freight forwarders, shippers, terminal operators, and other supply chain stakeholders, and that work was ongoing to standardise freight forwarding charges so that importers can determine the true cost of cargo clearance and logistics services.
On capacity building, he stated that over 250 freight forwarders had received training in air cargo operations, with programmes targeting sea freight operations also in the pipeline. The Council has equally strengthened ties with strategic partners within and outside Nigeria to support broader maritime and logistics sector reforms, he added.
Igwe also acknowledged MWUN’s solidarity during the passing of former CRFFN Registrar, Barrister Samuel Nwakohu, describing it as a gesture that deepened the bond between both organisations.
In his response, Comrade Bunu described CRFFN as a key institution in Nigeria’s trade facilitation architecture and revenue generation for the Federal Government. He praised Igwe for the reforms being driven at the Council and assured him of MWUN’s unwavering backing. “As far as the union is concerned, we are by you. We will always stand by you,” Bunu said.
The union leader, however, used the forum to press for improved conditions for maritime workers, calling on the Federal Government to review salaries in line with present economic realities. He stressed that the workforce remains central to the country’s economic growth and that periodic wage reviews are non-negotiable.
Bunu also raised the matter of outstanding union dues owed to MWUN by CRFFN, urging management to ensure prompt remittance in line with labour laws.
Responding, Igwe assured the union that while deductions for 2025 had been consistent, steps were already being taken to clear obligations dating back to 2024. He equally pledged to escalate MWUN’s demands for salary increases and improved staff conditions of service to the relevant authorities, noting that discussions on a new conditions of service framework for CRFFN staff had already begun.
At the close of the meeting, Igwe formally conferred on MWUN the status of “strategic partner” of CRFFN — a symbolic but significant declaration that both parties hope will define the character of their engagement going forward.
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