ENL ready to pay off dockworkers who quit voluntarily

ENL Consortium, operator of Terminals C and D of the Lagos Port Complex (LPC), Apapa, said it was ready to pay off dockworkers who volunteered to quit their jobs.

The Legal Adviser of ENL Consortium, Mr Uzamot Boye, said this in a statement made available to newsmen on Monday in Lagos..

Boye said that contrary to claims in certain quarters, the workers were issued with valid employment letters when they joined the company.

“It must be on record that these set of dockworkers elected to leave the terminals by themselves.’’

“Those of them who want to continue working with us and who are in the majority, are at their job posts as we speak but the few that want to leave are free to do so.

“We have been meeting with the union and officials of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

“To work out modalities for their payments, which we are ready to pay in full in consonance with the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC) agreement, ’’ the legal adviser said.

According to him, everyone in the industry knows ENL Consortium to be a people-focused organisation.

“We empower our people and enable them to be the best. Our Executive Vice- Chairman/Chief Executive Officer places the welfare of workers above every other consideration.

“The few dockworkers who want to be paid off should be patient and work with their leaders. They will receive their full retirement benefits in line with negotiated agreements,’’ Boye said.

The ENL legal adviser said the few aggrieved dockworkers were causing disruptions and breaching the peace at the ports for no justifiable reasons.

ENL Consortium, a multi-purpose terminal, recently won the prestigious Seatrade Award for best Port and Container Terminal Development in the Middle East, Africa and the Indian Sub-continent.