Port workers to observe protest day on March 21

KOCHI: The Water Transport Workers Federation of India, the umbrella organisation of trade union workers at major ports in the country, will observe a protest day on  March 21 against the Major Port Authorities Bill 2016. It will be preceded by a 10-day long campaign from March 10-20 highlighting the federation’s various demands.

The federation called upon the Cente to withdraw the Bill, which contains proposals  to convert port trusts into corporate bodies which  will  allegedly pave the way for privatisation of  major Ports. The TUs also want the government to drop all proposals and ongoing outsourcing of the port operations and activities and execution of  BOT  and  PPP Port projects in the pipeline.

‘’Right from the introduction of the  Bill before the Parliament,  workers of major ports in the country cutting across the political affiliations have been consistently opposing it as the proposals in the Bill are harmful to country’s interests,” said  C D Nandakumar of the Cochin Port Employees’ Organisation, a federation member .