TUCC indefinite strike hits Vallarpadam terminal operations

The ongoing indefinite strike by Trade Union Coordination Committee (TUCC) has seriously impacted operations at the Vallarpadam Container Terminal, an industry body said here today.
Cochin Chamber of Commerce said the nearly one week long strike was now posing a grave threat to the Terminal's cargo targets for this financial year.
The strike was called by container truck crew, demanding a dedicated parking space near the terminal, fair wage implementation and revision of existing wages.
The Chamber said it was very concerned about the fact that the strike had resulted in nearly 9,000 containers getting stuck inside the terminal.
"This has come at a time when the terminal recorded a 11 per cent growth in the number of vessels calling at ICTT, Vallarpadam," the chamber said in a release here.

Noting that the recently launched services to Far East Asian Countries and West Asia had started to yield results, the Chamber said it's figures showed that the terminal handled nearly 1,953 export containers from Coimbatore during the December 2015-January 2016 period as against 902 TEUs in the same period last year.

"This is mainly due to the liberalisation of cargo checks at Walayar checkpost. The cargo mainly consisted of coir pith, cotton yarns and textile machinery," the Chamber added.
Chamber president C S Kartha said they estimated the loss of nearly USD 90,000 due to the strike that began from midnight Wednesdayand that they feared that around 5,000 Teus would get diverted to neighbouring ports.

"We are hopeful that the workers will realise the quantum of the loss and will call off the strike at the earliest," he added.