Port resumes operations as employees back out to work

Lead Editor-Newsgathering

kejan.haynes@guardian.co.tt

After a two-day strike, the Port Authority has confirmed that all services at the Port of Port-of-Spain resumed yesterday at 7 am. Since then, the Authority stated it had deployed “appropriate resources” to clear any backlog from the disruption.

Scores of workers walked off the job earlier this week, over a range of issues, including health and safety concerns and stalled wage negotiations, which disrupted operations.

On Thursday, there were no vessel operations, and only minimal deliveries were facilitated at the container terminal. President General of the Seamen and Waterfront Workers’ Trade Union (SWWTU), Michael Annisette, told Guardian Media that the workers returned to work because they are dedicated to their jobs.

“Dock workers are committed workers,” Annisette said.

“They have been working in circumstances that no one would accept, but they understand the critical nature of the job they do for the economy. They do everything possible to avoid disruption because it impacts the ordinary man on the street.”

Annisette stated that a return to normal operations at the port cannot merely relate to the resumption of services. “Normalcy cannot go one way; we cannot say everything is back to normal while the wounds and pains the workers are feeling remain unaddressed,” he said.

“It’s a two-way street. We need to address the issues facing the workers to truly achieve a state of normalcy.”

Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan expressed his satisfaction at hearing the workers were back to work. When asked about his thoughts on the industrial action, he quipped, “Was it industrial action? I heard some of them weren’t feeling well. I’m glad they’re feeling better.”

Sinanan could not provide an estimate of how much the delays might have cost the country, but said although there were delays, the port would likely make up for the backlog, echoing the sentiment of the Port Authority.

He said as far as he knew, the workers had not been given any incentives to return to work. He praised the management and board of the Port Authority for handling the situation, noting that issues are escalated to his desk only if they could not be resolved internally.

The local industrial action raised fears that similar protests in the United States could seriously hamper everyday life.

However, US ports reopened yesterday after dockworkers agreed to return to work, ending a three-day strike.

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