As the protest was
in progress, Vince Farrugia, director general of the Malta Chamber of Small and
Medium Enterprises – GRTU, was holding talks with the Freeport's management over
the issue.
He said after the meeting that the GRTU was now waiting for a
reply from the Freeport over how the company intended to improve the situation.
Meanwhile, the protest would go on.
Mr Farrugia said cargo haulers
experienced an average of between four to five hours of delay every
day.
He said that some time ago, an agreement had been reached with the
authorities on the purchase or hire of new equipment to facilitate the work. But
nothing had been done to improve the situation.
Cargo haulers, he said,
carried cargo to and from the ports for exporters and importers, and as such
they were clients of the Freeport.
He accused the management of failing
in its promise to invest in equipment to ensure the efficient transfer of the
ever-increasing volume of containers. The delays were causing the haulers to
lose money, he claimed.
"Container handling is a competitive business
and, therefore, the haulers cannot pass on the burden to importers and
exporters."
He recalled that the GRTU had warned the IT and Government
Investments Ministry about the protest on April 15 and a reminder was sent two
days ago but the situation remained unchanged.
Cargo haulers yesterday
parked their trailers in a long row outside the Freeport gate, at the side of
the road leading to Ghar Hasan.
They complained about sometimes being at
the Freeport very early in the morning only to have to wait until 3 p.m. or
later. Lifters, they said, were either out of order or else taken up by other
operations at the Freeport.
The necessary equipment would ensure that
their operations were carried out efficiently and without delay.
They
also lamented the lack of sanitary facilities or somewhere where they could have
a drink or a snack while they waited.
The Freeport last night blamed the
haulers, the abnormally large volume of work and the weather for the
delays.
In a statement, it said it had suggested an appointment system,
as is utilised in other ports, to distribute work throughout the day. However,
the haulers had rejected it, congregating at the Freeport between 7 a.m. and 8
a.m. and causing congestion, queues and the consequent delays.
The
Freeport also said the volume of cargo destined for the local market had been
very high over the past week, with 1,500 containers passing through.
High
winds on Tuesday had also meant stopping the operation of cranes for safety
reasons, and in order to make up for it, Freeport workers had done 14 hours'
overtime.
The GRTU were also accused of not replying to a list of
proposals sent by the Freeport on April 19. Among the proposals were earlier
opening times and opening on Saturday mornings.
The Freeport appealed for
GRTU cooperation in finding efficient solutions to the problems, citing its
important role to local industry in offering links with more than 105 ports
around the world. The large ships would not come for such a small market as
Malta's were it not for the transshipment service that it
operated.
|
