Trailer operators call off strike

The ten-day long strike by the Trailer Owners Association (TOA) was called off on Monday noon.

The association representing over 4,000 operators had gone on an indefinite strike from December 19 to draw the attention of the Centre and the state government to the poor condition of Ennore-Manali road, which handles over 70 per cent of the cargo at the Chennai port.

Speaking to Business Standard, R Balasubramiam, president, TOA, said in the last ten days 85 per cent of the patch work had been completed on the road and therefore the association decided to call off the strike. The truck owners incurred a loss of around Rs 2.5 crore every day.

Meanwhile, the inventory level inside the terminal increased to around 11,000 containers as on Monday. Trade representatives said it would take at least ten days to restore normalcy here. The question now is who will foot the bill for the detention, demurrage and storage cost for the import boxes, which have piled up inside the terminal.

“It will be unfair if the terminal and shipping companies ask the trade or importers to bear the cost,” a senior industry representative said.