Dock and Port unions to meet T R Baalu

Mumbai, Nov 14 (UNI) Representatives of the Port and Dock Workers Union across the country will soon meet Union Minister for Shipping T R Baalu to resolve the wage dispute as a last resort before scaling up their agitation.

In a joint release here, five recognised federations of Port and Dock Workers, who met here today, decided to meet the Minister and explain their position in the wake of a recent letter from the Ministry of Shipping asked the federations to give their view point on the specific issue of periodicity of the wage settlement.

The Federations were requested to justify why they wanted the period of settlement for five year and asked the managements to put forward their points of view to enable the Minister to take a decision on the matter, the statement said.

The federations had been boycotting the meetings of the Bipartite Wage Revision Committee as the managements had failed to make an offer on the charter of demands submitted by the five recognised unions despite the lapse of 22 months, the release said.

They also did not heed the appeal of Union Secretary for Shipping A P V N Sarma to withdraw the boycott as there was no positive offer either about the periodicity of the settlement or quantum of increase in wages.

The federations also decided to mobilise the support of Port and Dock workers for a nation-wide agitation if there was no favourable decision by the Ministry on the issue and chalk out appropriate progrmme of action to secure early settlement.

The five agitating federations were all India Port an Dock Workers Federation of Hind Mazdoor Sangh, All India Port and Dock Workers Federation (Workers), Water Transport Workers Federaton of Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Indian National Port and Dock Workers' Federation of INTUC and Port, Dock and Waterfront Federationof India of AITUC.

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