Xmas party closes Durban terminal

Alan Peat
AS TRUCKS arrived at the Durban container terminal (DCT) last Friday (December 6) afternoon they found the gates closed.
What was this? Industrial action; a high-security initiative; an outbreak of bubonic plague?
No, said Kevin Miller, m.d. of Freightliner Transport, and a committee member of the SA Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF) Harbour Carriers section: “I was informed by our membership that the terminal closed its gates to give the staff their Christmas braai.”
As if that wasn’t bad enough, he added, they’d given absolutely no notice of this intended closure.
It got even more ridiculous when Martin contacted the terminal that afternoon. “They said they were unable to inform industry as their computers were down today,” he told FTW irately.
“They have already sent out two notices regarding congestion, requesting that the industry help them.
“Then they expect the same industry to smile while they kick them in the teeth by acting in a completely unprofessional manner.”
Paul Rayner, m.d. of DTB Transport, and chairman of the Harbour Carriers division, was equally incensed and forwarded Martin’s irate missive to Zeph Ndlovu, business unit manager (containers) at SA Port Operations (Sapo).
“It expresses the outrage that industry is feeling at the moment regarding your Xmas party,” he added in his accompanying communication.
“Many employees of the industry have, in fact, missed their own Xmas parties because of the work stoppage at the terminal. Do you think that is fair?”
He also demanded that the container haulage industry should not be penalised for this unannounced closure.
“You cannot expect industry to pay overtime to bring workers in tomorrow, at short notice, to unpack containers that would - under normal circumstances - have been delivered today (Friday).
“We therefore will be uplifting these containers on Monday and will be demanding an extension of free storage until then.”
Happy Christmas Sapo!