TUs oppose austerity measures at Cochin Port

KOCHI: Raising protest against the austerity measures proposed by the Cochin Port management, all trade unions at the Cochin Port on Tuesday convened a joint meeting and unanimously passed a resolution against the move to proceed with austerity measures. The unions have sought an inquiry by an independent agency into the financial mismanagement of the Port which led to the acute financial constraints and also execution of agreements for various projects, including the licence agreement for the International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT), Vallarpadam.It is stated in the resolution that the licence agreement for the ICTT included several anti-port and anti-national clauses. “Expeditious steps should be taken by the port to recover various dues from port users,” the resolution said.The unions further demanded that the incremental dredging cost should be either borne by the union government or arrangements may be made to reimburse the amount to the port by the user agencies of the channel like Cochin Shipyard, Indian Navy and Coast Guard . “The government should also sanction the proposal for procurement of a dredger by  Cochin Port,” they said.The meeting was chaired by Cochin Port Labourers Union president M M Lawrence. Former MP K Chandran pillai, Cochin Port Staff Association leader P M Mohammed Haneef, Cochin Port Employees Organisation leader C D Nandakumar, representatives of Cochin Port and Dock Employees Union, Cochin Thuramukha Thozhilali Union, Cochin Port Thozhilali Union and  Cochin Harbour Workers Union took part in the meeting held at CPSA Hall.