Ensure carrier move: Kerala High Court

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Monday directed Ernakulam collector M G Rajamanickam to ensure free movement of container carriers to and from the Cochin port without disruption by members of the Trade Union Coordination Committee (TUCC) which is on an indefinite strike. The order should not hamper the conciliation proceedings pending between the parties, the court said.

Justice V Chithambaresh passed the order while considering a petition filed by Cochin Container Carrier Owners Welfare Association seeking permission to move container carriers. The 1500-odd drivers belonging to 10 trade unions had called for a strike from Wednesday demanding reforms in service rules, fair wages and proper parking facilities. The strike had resulted in nearly 5,000 containers getting stuck inside the terminal.

Meanwhile, the police, armed with the court order,  forcefully removed a section of drivers belonging to BMS when the owners of container trailers tried to resume cargo traffic on Monday evening.

“The unions are deliberately creating problems despite assurances being given with regard to their key demands for fair wages and proper parking facilities,” said Clinton Choweller of Cochin Steamer Agents Association. “Only four to five containers are being shipped in a single vessel in place of 600 containers. We suspect the involvement of Tamil Nadu lobby behind.”

The stir broke out at a time when the terminal recorded a 11 per cent growth in the number of vessels calling at ICTT, Vallarpadam, which was closing on the record cargo traffic of four lakh container a year. Meanwhile, the Labour Commissioner has called for talks to settle the issue in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday to solve the issue.