Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Dock Work Convention, 1973 (No. 137) - Nigeria (Ratification: 2004)

Other comments on C137

Direct Request

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The Committee notes the Government's report indicating that there have been no developments in the application of the Convention.

Articles 2 and 4(2) of the Convention. Permanent or regular employment for dockworkers. Measures designed to minimize detrimental effects on dockworkers. The Committee recalls that in a previous report, the Government indicated that terminal operators have the responsibility of employment and disengagement of dockworkers, while the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) regulates the conditions of work. It also indicated that some of the terminal operators employ dockworkers on a permanent basis while others outsource from the NIMASA’s licensed stevedores for regular engagement. In addition, in the event of any reduction in the strength of the dockworkers register, the workers’ union and the terminal operators are required to negotiate the payment of terminal benefits for the disengaged dockworkers. The Committee invites the Government to provide information in its next report on the number of dockworkers for whom permanent or regular employment is assured in the country’s ports, any changes in the number of dockworkers that may have taken place during the reporting period, and the subjects covered in collective bargaining between the unions and terminal operators on the payment of benefits for disengaged dockworkers.

Article 6. Safety, health, welfare and vocational training provisions. The Committee recalls that in a previous report, the Government indicated that NIMASA trained dockworkers on modern cargo handling techniques and witnessed collective bargaining between port operators and unions on the minimum manning scale for all kinds of cargo operations. The Committee requests the Government to provide up-to-date information on the safety, health, welfare and vocational training provisions that apply to dockworkers, by supplying, for example, available information on the training provided by NIMASA during the reporting period and the number of dockworkers who benefited from such training.

Application in practice.The Committee encourages the Government to provide, as required by Part V of the report form, general indications on the manner in which the Convention is applied, by including extracts from the reports of the authorities responsible for implementing the provisions of the Convention, for example the annual report of NIMASA, and any available data on the number of dockworkers in the registers maintained and any changes in this number.