The Hindu Business Line : Trade hit by Chennai terminal strike

TROUBLE between workers and management of the Chennai Container Terminal Ltd (CCTL) has been brewing for about six months and the workers resorting to a strike from Sunday is a culmination of that, according to shipping industry sources.

With both workers and the management not willing to relent, it is the trade that is suffering in the bargain, point out the sources.

Movement of containers from and to the terminal has been affected since Sunday night.

There are over 9,000 boxes, both import and export, held up at the terminal for clearance.

Of this, over 1,500 have been there for more than 10 days, according to a reliable source.

Export boxes will miss connecting with mother vessels at transhipment ports like Singapore, Colombo and Port Klang. Importers - mostly working on just-in-time inventory - are worried about their boxes stuck inside the terminal, said an industry source.

While employees have stopped work since Sunday, the management has decided not to relent to the union's pressure and has brought operators from its sister firms, Nhava Sheva and Mundra container terminals.

It has also asked its supervisors and engineers to operate equipment. Workers are demanding a raise in salary. They also alleged "ill treatment" - like threats of suspension - by the CCTL management, which, however, was disputed by the management.

This is the first major scuffle between CCTL management and its workers after the terminal was privatised in November 2001.

CCTL will operate the terminal for 30 years. In the last six months there have been instances of `go slow' by workers affecting the terminal's operations, said a source.

The terminal has improved its productivity achieving over 20 moves per hour per gantry crane from a level of 14-15 moves when the Chennai Port Trust was running the terminal.

"Privatisation of the terminal should have benefited the trade. On the contrary, it has affected the trade with frequent labour disturbances," an industry source said.

In a joint meeting here on Tuesday, representatives of the various chambers of commerce and industries wanted the Chennai Port Trust to monitor the terminal's performance parameters and service level, as there is an indirect financial implication for the port.

Further, the port trust should initiate regular interactive meetings between CCTL, chambers and user associations. Such regular meetings could have avoided the present crisis, they said.

The port trust should also have follow-up mechanisms of any joint meeting as the trade feels that assurances of CCTL, given at a meeting held on February 10, have not been fulfilled. This is a major reason for the present situation.

The chambers alleged that there is no transparency with regard to CCTL either on its working or on its proposed course of action even at times of crisis. Further, there is no interface or interaction by CCTL with users or chambers or the trade bodies resulting in speculation, said a release.

Though `go slow' followed by the present stoppage was on the cards for six months, no worthwhile effort was taken by CCTL to avert the situation and no timely communication was given to the trade, they said. As of date, other than soliciting the support of chambers and user associations in the meeting on May 23, the CCTL has not come out with a concrete contingency plan to tackle the present situation, the release said.

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