Dockworkers at the Ports and Terminal Operators Nigeria Limited (PTOL) in Port Harcourt Port say they are at the risk exposure to Covid-19 pandemic due to the lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) in the terminal.
White Harry, a Trustee Member of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) at the Rivers Ports, lamented that despite a seven-day ultimatum issued to the terminal operator to provide PPEs for dockworkers working inside the port, workers are still without PPEs.
He said that the MWUN gave PTOL a seven-day ultimatum to either kit port workers with PPEs or risk the port terminal being shut down, adding that they have only two port terminals at the Port Harcourt port, which is the PTOL Terminal and the BUA Terminal.
“The BUA Terminal is still embroiled in a legal tussle with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) over the collapse of port infrastructure, so that leaves only the PTOL Terminal functional as we speak. Therefore, shutting down the PTOL Terminal could mean the total shutdown of the Port Harcourt port in Rivers State.
“Based on this, the President-General of the MWUN has mandated me to liaise with the terminal operator and the stevedoring firm that provides dockworkers on adequate provision of PPEs. It is, however, unfortunate that despite all efforts made to force the terminal operator and stevedoring firm to provide PPE’s for port workers, nothing has been done in that regard.
“Port workers are now endangered species at the Port Harcourt port because none of them goes into the port with any PPE in this Covid-19 period. The seven-day ultimatum has lapsed, and nothing has changed. The situation is quite pathetic.”
