Customs clerks becoming more disenchanted

While we are aware that change must come, we are not at all satisfied with the lack of meaningfull consultation before implementation.

In April of this year, we were invited to a meeting with the management of the port where discussions were held about what could be done to have a more effective delivery system. The port’s management sugested a rent structure that would penalise importers who did not clear their containers in a timely fashion. We agreed. They introduced us to the intention to have a planned delivery system to which we also reluctantly agreed as they admitted to having equipment problems. However, when the new tariff was announced, we realised that importers had also lost a facility they had enjoyed for at least the last 40 years; having five extra days to clear shipments over a certain size.

On realising the implications of this change and the effect that it would have on prices, we sought a meeting with the port’s management to express our concerns. At this meeting we were introduced to the new managers from Portia. We left that meeting with the feeling that we were not being taken seriously, and another meeting was set up for us to meet with the TTMA, the Chamber of Commerce, the port’s management, and ourselves, but, feeling that we were getting nowhere, we held a press conference to put the facts to the people of the country. Because of this we were not allowed to attend the meeting the following day. At that meeting an agreement was reached between the Port Authority and the TTMA. It was not what we might have agreed to, but because of the compromise reached at that meeting we decided to leave that issue alone.

We are profesionals and we are giving notice that we will not condone the secretive knee-jerk sort of management that seems to be the port’s modus operandi under this foreign used management company. They might learn about modern management techniques by looking at the story of Japan. The port belongs to the people of Trinidad and Tobago and we will not allow our own resource to work against us.

Nicholas Rostant

Grevience Officer North

C.C.C.B.A of T.T