Workers at the country’s major ports and docks are preparing for a long-term strike to demand that the government execute settlements, raise wages with effect from January 1, 2022, and uphold previous pledges. On April 5, the national co-ordination committee of five recognised federations in the major ports will observe a token strike to defend privileges and legally entitled benefits, according to P.M.Mohammed Haneef, the committee’s general convenor. The committee is concerned about the implementation of the Major Port Authorities Act of 2021, which repeals the Major Port Trust Act of 1963.
The Government had stated that the intention behind the introduction of MPA Act, 2021 is to provide more autonomy and transparency in the management of major ports. However, The coordination committee strongly believes that the intention of the present enactment is to convert the major ports as companies and subsequently entrust it to the hands of private cartels as has been done in the cases of several PSU’s, Haneef said.
Haneef pointed out that the intention of the government to create more infrastructure in the port sector is having no logic. The non-major ports attained 577.12 million tonnes cargo because of the total patronage and support of the Government. While, the major ports without any special consideration from the Government and even by sacrificing their income for the benefits of the private terminals gained the achievement of utilising about 50 per cent of the handling capacity and contributed ₹4,126.10 crore to the exchequer.
