VISAKHAPATNAM: The ninth national conference of CITU-affiliated Water Transport Workers’ Federation of India (WTWFI) has decided to conduct a nation-wide campaign next month against corporatisation of major ports. The two-day conference, which concluded here, has resolved to launch a two-phase campaign — to collect database on workers denied regular wages despite their employment in perennial nature of jobs from January 2 to 15 and educate the stakeholders against replacing the Major Ports Act of 1963 with new legislation to hand over assets worth crores of rupees to private players from January 16 to February 2.
Briefing reporters on the decisions taken at the conference, WTWFI president C.D. Nanda Kumar, general secretary T. Narendra Rao, vice-presidents V.S. Padmanabha Raju and Parsuram said on Sunday that the conference evaluated the real problems in broad perspective and concluded that it was the immediate task for the working class to fight united against corporatisation of major ports. “The government is hastily proceeding to replace MPT Act which provides administrative autonomy to the respective major ports through the Board of Trustees. Now through this instigated move, the government wants to demolish the entire structure of major ports under the alibi of structural changes and putting in place Board of Directors,” they stated.
Stating that the major ports were the lifeline of the economy, the federation leaders said the major ports were already facing the threat due to awarding of contracts to multinationals under the pretext of allowing FDI on BOT/PPP mode. To a question, Mr. Narendra Rao said now the government was developing non-major ports with private investment at the cost of public exchequer under BOT/PPP route jeopardising the security of permanent employees.
