PoS port workers ‘no smooth sailing yet’

The workers staged three days of protest which resulted in a backlog of 4,000 containers not being cleared at the port. The protest was intended to show their dissatisfaction with working conditions at the port as well as with negotiations which have been ongoing between the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (PATT) and union representative, the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union (SWWTU).

Checks made at the port yesterday confirmed the workers had in fact returned to their duties. However, several workers who were on their lunch break when Newsday visited at Dock Road, Port-of-Spain said they had only returned to work following a meeting held yesterday with SWWTU president Michael Annisette. The workers said based on the outcome of a meeting between management from PATT and the union, which is scheduled for later this week, they will know their next course of action.

One worker who not did want to be identified said, “We are working under deplorable conditions and since 2005 we have been raising these concerns with management but nothing has been done. We are awaiting the outcome of the next meeting to know what action we will be taking next.”

Some of the workers who are stationed at Shed 10 on the port complained about the heat they are made to endure as a result of the galvanised roofing of the structure which is not air conditioned but furnished with some fans. Another worker said next door to the shed is a fuelling bay for the trucks and the stench from the diesel is not safe for them. He added that rats and other rodents were seen on the premises daily. Since yesterday’s meeting, the shed was power washed but the workers said that was just to keep them quiet.

The private sector, represented by the TT Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA), the Supermarkets Association, the Greater Tunapuna Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Downtown Owners and Merchants Association, TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Chaguanas Chamber of Commerce, is viewing the current impasse which led to the shutdown of port operations as an issue which requires immediate and urgent resolution.

These organisations yesterday called for a meeting of all stakeholders which must “address the inefficient systems in place at the port.”