Shipping agencies under the aegis of Shipping Agencies, Clearing, and Forwarding Employers Association (SACFEA) have approved N200,000 minimum wage.
As attention remains on the new national minimum wage, shipping industry stakeholders have reached an agreement on setting standards for workers’ conditions in the field.
The new development comes after nearly 20 years of struggle and unsuccessful negotiations. The agreement is seen as not just a victory for maritime workers but for the entire industry.
As reported by The Punch on Monday, August 26, the new pay applies to the association’s various employees. An agreement has been reached on the agreement on minimum conditions of service for labour in Nigeria’s shipping industry.
It was learnt that the Bola Tinubu administration, through the ministry of marine and blue economy and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), played a key role in brokering what has now been termed a “historic agreement”.
Speaking during the document signing ceremony on Friday, August 23, in Lagos, Mrs Boma Alabi (SAN), the president of SACFEA, stated that the new minimum wage of N200,000 would be the highest in any industry nationwide.
Her words: “The most significant thing is that in setting a minimum standard for the shipping industry, we have gone above and beyond any other industry in Nigeria.
“The national minimum wage is N70,000 and we know what it took to get the federal government to get to that point.
“By the agreement we have signed today, our minimum wage is N200,000. It is almost triple the national minimum wage.”
