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Chennai port users' plea union to resolve labour problems

Our Bureau

CHENNAI, Jan. 31

THE Chennai Port Users Association (CPUA) has urged the port trust authorities and the Ministries concerned to effectively tackle the labour problems plaguing the port.

The CPUA is an umbrella organisation under which the chambers of commerce and industry, trade associations, steamer agents, shipping agents and stevedore association have gathered to voice their grievance about the problems at the port.

The association representatives blamed the port trust authorities for not properly handling the labour problems at the port. Industrial relations in the port were dismal, and this has led to frequent strikes and agitations which have affected shipping sc hedules. The credibility of exporters and importers and that of the port was at stake in international trade, they said.

At a press conference here, Mr B.R. Dujari, President, Southern India Shippers' Association, said that in the last few years, the port workers, particularly at the container terminal, had gone on strike repeatedly. The authorities had failed to arrive at a long-term solution to the labour problems or spruce up their operations.

For instance, since 1997, apart from the strike led by trade unions, all sections of the labour including the dock vehicle drivers, mooring crew, port pilots, container terminal workers and technical staff had gone on strike at various times.

The authorities had not taken a proactive approach, but have attended to the problem only when it had bushfired, he said. Exporters and importers have not been able to stick to schedules. The feeder operators have now decided to levy a container surcharg e of $100 per TEU from February 10. This would drastically affect the trade, he said.

Captain C. Satyanarayana, Chairman, Chennai Steamer Agents Association, said that the agents could not afford to bear the losses caused by tardy operations at the port. Operating costs increase steeply when loading or unloading is delayed. The congestion surcharge would only help to partly reduce the losses, he said.

If the port authorities or the Ministries concerned were serious about ensuring competitiveness of the port, they would have to act fast, he said. The credibility of the port was taking a severe beating in the international market.

During the recent go-slow by the container terminal workers, port productivity had dropped by 70 per cent. Just as the situation was returning to normal, the technical staff had gone on a one day strike on Monday. Each time a few hundred workers or even a handful have held the trade to ransom, he said.

Representatives from apparel export industries and engineering and export-oriented units said that export quotas and orders could be lost because of labour problems at the port.

For instance, officials from Rane Brake Linings Ltd said that operations at their unit were threatened because raw material inventories had dropped significantly. The frequent strikes and diversion of stocks could affect margins badly, they said.