Stuttering Pier 2 plays catch-up

With two and a half days lost to illegal strikes, followed by an ongoing go-slow for the rest of last week, the Durban container terminal (DCT) Pier 2 ground to a near stop, with ship and container truck delays the order of the day. Added to this was an utter lack of communication from port management about the whys, whats and wherefores of the workers’ action – apart from announcements of worker/management meetings, and a declaration of force majeure, which effectively was Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) saying it was not obliged to pay any claims from the slow-down effects of the industrial action by its workers. From what could be gathered from FTW contacts in the freight industry, the strike and go-slow was driven by the workers’ dissatisfaction at not being paid their Christmas productivity bonuses. The short and the sweet of it was that TPT had set productivity target figures which were achieved at Durban’s Pier 1, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Ngqura – but not at DCT Pier 2. However, the workers would seem to have had a bit of a case. According to FTW sources, the workers may have been right in feeling that the targets were unrealistic in practice. We were told that a lack of space at the terminal and a shortage of equipment, along with management’s practice of allowing a 24-hour cleanup period between ships, made meeting the targets impossible. “DCT is just not getting the breathing space,” FTW was told, “and also handling bigger volumes. So the targets are just not on.” But management was said to be digging in its heels over the productivity issue. And, although the workers eventually went back to work this week, they were described as still unhappy. And this lack of motivation, along with an accumulated backlog of work, means that this week is again not breaking any records when it comes to container moves. Although the strike/ go-slow hasn’t paralysed the SA container seafreight industry as did last year’s national strike, these industrial actions are all costly to al stakeholders. Speaking for road transporters, Kevin Martin of the Durban Harbour Carriers’ Association (DHCA), said: “DCT Pier 2 has been stuttering along for a week, with short-term strikes and an on-going go-slow. And, although it’s supposed to be over this week, we are still playing a catch-up game.” Iain McIntosh, GM marketing of Mitsui OSK Line (MOL), also noticed the effect of the industrial action. “Our main problem last week was a delay to the MOL Cullinan,” he told FTW. “Because of the problem at DCT, she was two days late getting out of Cape Town, and so we had to drop a northbound port of call to make up her schedule.” Andrew Thomas, CE of Ocean Africa Container Line (OACL), said that the lines were just not happy with the productivity levels at Pier 2 – the port’s main container terminal. “As far as the Container Liner Operators’ Forum (Clof) is concerned, we’d support any attempt to improve productivity in Durban.”