The customs clearing agents and labourers working at the Mughalpura Dryport went on strike for an indefinite period from Monday against the new system of cargo handling introduced by the railway authorities at the dryport.
Although the customs clearing agents and the labourers had stopped work at the dryport Saturday last yet they decided to observe complete strike from Monday to protest against the railway authorities move to award tender of handling cargo to only one party. Porters gathered at the dryport and chanted against the railway authorities, saying the newly introduced system would prove economically disastrous for all the stakeholders.
They announced that the strike would continue till withdrawal of the new cargo handling system. The porters' protest processions caused traffic jams at and around Mughalpura Dryport.
In the evening both porters and customs clearing agents staged a protest demonstration outside the Lahore Press Club (LPC). Meanwhile, addressing an emergent press conference at LPC, Chairman Lahore Customs Agents Association, Chaudhry Muhammad Amjad, alleged that the chief traffic manager of Pakistan Railways, Muhammad Altaf, was the main character behind the scene.
He said that in June 2007, the railway authorities had intimated them about introducing a new system to award cargo handling contract to a single party at the Mughalpura Dryport, which was unanimously rejected by both custom agents and the porters. He said that the Association had asked the railway authorities to form a committee comprising one each member of the Association and Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) to resolve the issue. But the authorities later on took a final decision without consulting them, he said.
Speaking about possible negative impact of this new system, Amjad said that 500 porters working at the Mughalpura Dryport would become unemployed. Moreover, he said, handling charges for different types of containers had also been increased from Rs 200-600 to Rs 2000. New handling charges for a 20-feet and 40-fee container have been fixed at Rs 1,000 and Rs 2000, respectively, he explained.
This would adversely affect the cargo business as well as export of the country, he asserted. He further said that the strike would cause Rs 350-400 million per day loss to the national exchequer.