Bagging unit upsets labourers at the Port

KOCHI: Protest is brewing among labourers under the Kerala Head Load Workers’ Welfare Fund Board (KHLWWFB) over the Cochin Port Trust’s decision to install a mechanised fertilizer bagging unit for clearing imported cargo. The port, aggrieved by the shortage of labourers, had decided to procure an automatic bagging unit to clear the cargo.What prompted the port management to introduce mechanisation is the delay in clearing fertilisers imported by FACT and Indian Potash Limited in November last year. Around 24,000 tonnes of urea and 27,000 tonnes of potash, that had reached the port in the second week of November, remain uncleared at the godowns for want of labourers.The Welfare Fund  Board was unable to provide enough labourers to clear the load. The cause of the shortage was the compartmentalisation of labourers into various water-tight pools within the welfare board, where over 2500 workers are registered. Despite lack of work for the labourers in other pools, they cannot not be spared by the board resulting in shortage amidst plenty. The welfare board is able to supply only around 40 workers on an average against a demand of 120.The office-bearers of Cochin Thuramukha Thozhilali Union (CTTU), to which a major chunk of labourers belong, alleged that the port management installed the bagging unit only to save the operational cost.“It’s an anti-labourer movement which we cannot accept,” said V H Shihabuddin, CTTU general secretary. He also denied the allegation that work was affected due to lack of labourers. “Labourers were ready. The delay occurred because the Indian Potash Limited (IPL) did not want to clear it quickly as their own godowns were packed,” he alleged.“We are not against mechanisation but mechanisation without ensuring employment cannot be accepted at any cost,” Shihabuddin said.Meanwhile, the authorities of KHLWWFB said that they had not received any intimation from the port authorities regarding the induction of a mechanised bagging unit.“However, we have come to know that the port management has procured a bagging unit. There is an apprehension among bagging labourers regarding their employment,” said George, chairman, Welfare Fund Board.