The protest which started suddenly last Friday evening at the entrance to the Colombo Port by the container drivers and cleaners ended around noon November 5 with the Ports Authority Chairman Dr. Priyath Wickrama promising to resolve grievances, Nation News reports.
President of the Association of Container Transport, Upali Gunawardena, speaking to The Nation said the protest was not pre-arranged, but that drivers and cleaners had got together and had expressed their agitation over some operational inefficiencies of the container transport sector of the port.
He said the Association brought the issue before the administration of the Ports Authority and they came up with reasonable solutions to meet the issues highlighted by the container drivers and the cleaners. The issue in dispute had erupted because the single computer at the entrance to the Port, reserved for issuing licenses to containers, was out of order. Officials had waited for the advice from the administration to issue manually written passes and ensuing delays had irked the container drivers and cleaners.
Heavy traffic and a long queue at the access point to the Port was the main cause for the agitation. The Ports Authority administration had promised to give a short-term solution till they go for a permanent solution to issue licenses for the containers.
Immediate Past President of the Association S. Jayasuriya said a discussion took place with the participation of officials from the Ports Authority, Customs, container transporters and the Police Department last morning and that a solution acceptable to all had been arrived at. The Association also admitted the damage done to the country’s economy within 24 hours was ‘very big’.
However, the container drivers highlight that the process to issue licenses, check systems and complete internal port procedure should be streamlined soon. They claimed they wasted around 10 hours per trip due to this problem.
Sri Lanka Ports Authority issuing a statement yesterday on the flash strike by container carrier drivers and cleaners said the strike was settled after the unions and the officials concerned agreed to implement a ten point solution.
These included expeditious issuance of entry permits, discontinuing inspection by the Sri Lanka Navy on container vehicles, provision of sanitary facilities, allowing breakdown vehicles to remain in the port precincts till they are repaired and keeping the drivers informed of the movement routes and rules within the port, the statement said.
Contacted by The Nation SLPA Managing Director Capt Nihal Keppitipola said the Transporters Association, SLPA Chairman Dr. Priyath Wickrama, Director General Customs Dept. Sudharama Karunaratne took part in the discussion that enabled to end the dispute.
Director General and Media spokesperson for the Customs Department, P.A. Dias told The Nation the minor malfunction of the computerised system was rectified.
“The system did not function properly on Friday evening. This resulted in the delay of issuing passes to the vehicles at the gates,” he said. He however pointed out the system malfunction was not the root cause for the sudden strike by the workers.
“The workers had been facing issues in the past. They used this situation to raise their concerns. The Ports Authority officials held discussions with them and work returned to normal in the afternoon (yesterday),” he said.
President of the Association of Container Transport, Upali Gunawardena, speaking to The Nation said the protest was not pre-arranged, but that drivers and cleaners had got together and had expressed their agitation over some operational inefficiencies of the container transport sector of the port.
He said the Association brought the issue before the administration of the Ports Authority and they came up with reasonable solutions to meet the issues highlighted by the container drivers and the cleaners. The issue in dispute had erupted because the single computer at the entrance to the Port, reserved for issuing licenses to containers, was out of order. Officials had waited for the advice from the administration to issue manually written passes and ensuing delays had irked the container drivers and cleaners.
Heavy traffic and a long queue at the access point to the Port was the main cause for the agitation. The Ports Authority administration had promised to give a short-term solution till they go for a permanent solution to issue licenses for the containers.
Immediate Past President of the Association S. Jayasuriya said a discussion took place with the participation of officials from the Ports Authority, Customs, container transporters and the Police Department last morning and that a solution acceptable to all had been arrived at. The Association also admitted the damage done to the country’s economy within 24 hours was ‘very big’.
However, the container drivers highlight that the process to issue licenses, check systems and complete internal port procedure should be streamlined soon. They claimed they wasted around 10 hours per trip due to this problem.
Sri Lanka Ports Authority issuing a statement yesterday on the flash strike by container carrier drivers and cleaners said the strike was settled after the unions and the officials concerned agreed to implement a ten point solution.
These included expeditious issuance of entry permits, discontinuing inspection by the Sri Lanka Navy on container vehicles, provision of sanitary facilities, allowing breakdown vehicles to remain in the port precincts till they are repaired and keeping the drivers informed of the movement routes and rules within the port, the statement said.
Contacted by The Nation SLPA Managing Director Capt Nihal Keppitipola said the Transporters Association, SLPA Chairman Dr. Priyath Wickrama, Director General Customs Dept. Sudharama Karunaratne took part in the discussion that enabled to end the dispute.
Director General and Media spokesperson for the Customs Department, P.A. Dias told The Nation the minor malfunction of the computerised system was rectified.
“The system did not function properly on Friday evening. This resulted in the delay of issuing passes to the vehicles at the gates,” he said. He however pointed out the system malfunction was not the root cause for the sudden strike by the workers.
“The workers had been facing issues in the past. They used this situation to raise their concerns. The Ports Authority officials held discussions with them and work returned to normal in the afternoon (yesterday),” he said.