Port Qasim employees call off strike
HS Group CEO Anwar Qayyum said that the strike has badly affected the image of the country.
KARACHI:
After successful negotiations with the Port Qasim Authority (PQA), the employees of cargo handling companies have called off their strike and resumed port activities that were at standstill for more than 25 hours.
Talking to The Express Tribune, PQA DG Administration Shujaat Abbas said that PQA has assured the employees that all their genuine demands would be met.
When asked about the demands, he said the employees want PQA to put a ban on hiring of cheap labour from outside the port, due to the impact it has on their livelihood. He, however, made it clear they are employed by contractors and are not the employees of PQA.
About grievances of exporters, he said the PQA administration was mindful of the problems faced by exporters, whose containers – particularly those containing perishable items – were stuck due to the strike. “We took this matter seriously and negotiated with the employees because we knew a lot of perishable containers were also stuck in the long queues of trucks,” he said.
Abbas, who negotiated with the employees’ committee, said more than 1,700 employees took part in these protests. The employees were disappointed with automated operations of a new terminal but they did not plainly table their concerns in the negotiations, he added.
One of the lead negotiators with PQA, Gul Mohammad Momand, commented that the foremost demand of employees has been met as PQA accepted them as their dock workers.
HS Group CEO Anwar Qayyum said that the strike has badly affected the image of the country. Qayyum, whose group exports perishable items, said that 11 of his containers were stuck in the strike and that the delay in shipment was certain to affect the quality of products.
“This delay will also affect our business relations because we are exporting perishable items to new markets where Pakistan has never exported, such as Mauritius,” he said.
He also criticised the role of government in this standoff, saying, “Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani should have intervened as the strike has hit the image of our country.”
Published in The Express Tribune, February 23rd, 2011.
After successful negotiations with the Port Qasim Authority (PQA), the employees of cargo handling companies have called off their strike and resumed port activities that were at standstill for more than 25 hours.
Talking to The Express Tribune, PQA DG Administration Shujaat Abbas said that PQA has assured the employees that all their genuine demands would be met.
When asked about the demands, he said the employees want PQA to put a ban on hiring of cheap labour from outside the port, due to the impact it has on their livelihood. He, however, made it clear they are employed by contractors and are not the employees of PQA.
About grievances of exporters, he said the PQA administration was mindful of the problems faced by exporters, whose containers – particularly those containing perishable items – were stuck due to the strike. “We took this matter seriously and negotiated with the employees because we knew a lot of perishable containers were also stuck in the long queues of trucks,” he said.
Abbas, who negotiated with the employees’ committee, said more than 1,700 employees took part in these protests. The employees were disappointed with automated operations of a new terminal but they did not plainly table their concerns in the negotiations, he added.
One of the lead negotiators with PQA, Gul Mohammad Momand, commented that the foremost demand of employees has been met as PQA accepted them as their dock workers.
HS Group CEO Anwar Qayyum said that the strike has badly affected the image of the country. Qayyum, whose group exports perishable items, said that 11 of his containers were stuck in the strike and that the delay in shipment was certain to affect the quality of products.
“This delay will also affect our business relations because we are exporting perishable items to new markets where Pakistan has never exported, such as Mauritius,” he said.
He also criticised the role of government in this standoff, saying, “Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani should have intervened as the strike has hit the image of our country.”
Published in The Express Tribune, February 23rd, 2011.