- Title: KENYA: Dock workers strike hits East African hub port of Mombasa
- Date: 1st November 2012
- Summary: MOMBASA, KENYA (NOVEMBER 01, 2012) (REUTERS) WIDE OF KENYA PORTS AUTHORITY HEADQUARTERS WHERE DOCK WOKERS STAGED A STRIKE VARIOUS OF DOCK WORKERS SEATED AT THE MAIN ENTRANCE TO THE PORT MANAGEMENT OFFICES (SOUNDBITE) (English) KENYA DOCK WORKERS UNION SECRETARY GENERAL, SIMON SANG, SAYING: "The management has failed to do what they were supposed to have been done by 31st
- Embargoed: 16th November 2012 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Kenya
- Country: Kenya
- Topics: Business,Industry,Employment
- Reuters ID: LVABZVJ337K32GK88HPUU3RRAVXB
- Story Text: An indefinite strike by more than half of the workers at Kenya's main port of Mombasa has paralysed dockside work at east African region's main trade gateway on Thursday (November 01), union officials said.
The port, the biggest in the region, handles imports such as fuel for Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.
The union said 3,500 workers, most of whom are loaders, and had worked at the port for between 15 and 20 years on casual and contractual basis, went on strike demanding permanent jobs.
The workers, in aprons and reflective jackets, camped outside the port head offices in Mombasa, chanting slogans and waved banners, while import-loaded cargo ships waited.
Simon Sang, secretary general of the dock workers union said the management had agreed earlier this year to employ the casual workers by October 31 but this had not yet happened, prompting the industrial action.
The union leaders and port management said loading and unloading at the port were at a total standstill.
"The management has failed to do what they were supposed to have been done by 31st because reconciliation which was done in a tripartite meeting that is between the government, the management and the union was that they were supposed to have released 3,200 letters by the first of October, the failure to do that is what has caused this guys to come and camp here waiting for their letters," dock workers union Secretary General Simon Sang said.
The port employs about 6,000 workers in Mombasa, management said.
The port handled 10.7 million tonnes of cargo over the first-half of this year, up 24 percent from 2011. The traffic is usually an indicator of economic activity in the region.
"Our clients are not able to get their cargo not because we have refused to work but it is because somebody has failed to do his responsibility," Sang added.
The port of Mombasa serves its wide hinterland with imports that include oil, clinker which is used to make cement, steel, bitumen for road construction and second-hand cars, while the main exports include tea, coffee, and horticulture goods.
Labour unrest has become more frequent across east Africa's biggest economy this year ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections due next March.
Teachers, university lecturers and doctors have also staged strikes to demand better pay and working conditions this year. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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