It is like a political victory for hundreds of dock workers present in the National Industrial Court of Nigeria on Thursday 20/6/2019 for the "Trial". It is like an end to the three years deadlock Court appearances and the long suffering toil under the whip of ENL Consortium.
While today is the Trial Day for the Industrial court, to kick off the hearing between representative capacity of 584 (out of the 688 retrenched) registered dock workers filed with NICN, and ENL Consortium. Many of the workers were already in the court premises around 7:45am to display their banners and chant solidarity songs.
Before the trial, leaders of the group: Agitating Dock Workers Forum initiated when the struggle started 2016, few month after they were thrown out from the company, March 2016; without payment of their 10 years unpaid salaries and remuneration, were at their feet to agitate.
The case, which is number 10 kick off around 3:45pm as number 13. Inside Court 6 where the trial took place. Cross examination of witnesses first started with the leader of the workers: Ezeagu Gerard Lucky, where he was "cross examined" first by Amie Ogeh (ENL), then followed by Toluwani Adebiyi (Dock workers).
Among the technical questions asked by Amie Ogeh (ENL lawyer) thrown to Gerard were, why do they dock workers continue working in spite of ENL refusal, paying them the agreed N33000 minimum wage? Why should they at a time denied receiving alert from ENL despite they was no pay slip?
And why then going about as retrenched workers blackmailing ENL Consortium, that the company owes them backlog of salaries, when already they have been paid off the sum of N350, 000 redundancy; immediately after their contract was terminated in March, 2016 after 10 years of service.
In addition, falsifying details without any concrete evidence regarding their contract with the company, on the Collective Bargaining of N33000 minimum wage with 10% Bi-annual increment. The company's lawyer said the workers aren't owed any salaries. That the company had paid them all their benefit they deserve.
Issues around APM Terminal Certificate of Service, APM Terminal Redundancy Benefits and APM Terminal Salary Review were used as weight to justify the retrenchment of the workers; cast into denying nothing about the Collective Bargaining that the court should do the needful.
However, Gerard mentioned before the court that they were all employed staff of ENL Consortium when asked by Toluwani. He described the terrible working condition of workers in ENL. How ENL employ the tactics of using the military to choke them to collect the N350, 000, which is not their redundancy benefits.
Interestingly, half of the workers were in the court room, not only came to show their scalp faces but solidarity and protest for the court to give the necessary verdict subsequently. Justice Gwando empathize with the workers by appealing they shouldn't be present in every court sitting.
However, Toluwani Adebiyi said the presence of the workers in every court sitting is to show solidarity to their struggle. For the workers, ENL is running a slave camp and refusing to pay their 10 years unpaid salaries. He drew the attention of the court on the aspect of privatization.
Saying, it is because of policies of the then and now government, that has created this enslavement in the dock industry. However, the company failing to abide to the existing labour laws of N33000 minimum wage 10% bi-annual increment, is what has brought about this struggle of the dock workers.
The Campaign for Democratic and Workers Rights (a front of Democratic Socialist Movement) participating in this struggle, has continued to show solidarity to the workers for three years since March, 2016. Most importantly campaign for an end to casualization and abuse to workers democratic rights.
Meanwhile, why Wednesday July 17, 2019 is the new adjourned date for ENL trial to take place. The CDWR/DSM call on workers and the mass across board especially sections in the CWI, to show solidarity to the disengaged 584, Energy Neftegas Limited Consortium has refused to their 10 years unpaid salaries.
The solidarity is to organize rallies and demonstrations to politically expose the rot of the system of capitalism that has embarked on casualization of workers, where companies like ENL benefiting from the lot of the Nigerian capitalists politicians, has remain harden to pay the dock workers their entitlement.
Perhaps, while this struggle has become a protracted one. We in the CDWR/DSM charge the Nigerian Labour Congress and United Labour Congress to declare a day of solidarity support to these workers. Not only for the immediate but for also organizing campaign subsequently to end casualization in work places.
Perhaps, while this struggle has become a protracted one. We in the CDWR/DSM charge the Nigerian Labour Congress and United Labour Congress to declare a day of solidarity support to these workers. Not only for the immediate but for also organizing campaign subsequently to end casualization in work places.
However, not only casualization but to demand for the nationalization of the Nigerian Port Authority under democratic management and control of workers and the poor against the failed agenda of concession, privatization and deregulation embedded in the system of capitalism. For DSM, this is the ultimate task the trade union labour leaders must embark upon.
By
Davy Fidel
LIFEINSLUM
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