Ctg port and trade unionism
Shahiduzzaman Khan | Thursday, 26 February 2009
The dock workers at the Chittagong port are now regrouping in the name of various labour unions after getting registration. The workers came out the other day on the streets in the port city, tending to threaten the normal operations of the port. The lifeline -- the gateway to Bangladesh -- appears, thus, to be in a state of jeopardy, again.
The trade unionism remained banned during the two-year term of the caretaker government. After the emergency, all five trade union organisations under the dock management board were disbanded. After the take-over of the democratically elected government, these groups are resurfacing and starting movement with their various demands.
According to a report published in a national daily, dock workers of the port observed work abstention all on a sudden for a few hours and formed human chain coming out of the docks this week in support of their various demands. Berth operators and dock management say most of the demands of the workers were met earlier. There was virtually no conflict between the workers and the management. They felt embarrassed over the demands raised by the workers. A dock worker earns Tk 15,000 a month right now. Their demand to raise it to Tk 30,000 is unjustified, the management claimed.
Earlier, the trade union leaders also wanted to control port activities at their 'whims'. They reined supreme in all port related activities. There were 29 trade unions at the Chittagong Port but only nine of them were registered. Five trade union bodies represented the employees of the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) and the workers belonging to the Dock Management Board were represented through another four. But the CPA had no authority over the 20 other trade union bodies.
Before proclamation of emergency, the image of the Chittagong Port suffered badly and the port users paid the penalty. They were forced to pay 20 to 22 per cent higher freight charges than what was being charged for other ports of similar distance by the shipping companies and the port users could do nothing about it. The World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) made repeated appeals to Bangladesh to rein in the highly politicised trade union leaders and improve port functioning. But the situation only kept deteriorating.
Indeed, port congestion, corruption, and inefficiency caused the economy a net loss of over US$1.0 billion annually two years back. The development agencies have even put the loss at a much higher level - between one and two per cent of the country's GDP. Port inefficiencies also led to other losses, which became difficult to recover within a short period of time.
According to a Transparency International's (TI) study, a staggering amount of over Tk 9.43 billion had been realised from the importers and exporters at the Chittagong Port during the year 2006 as bribe. The report says that the port users had to bribe at least at 30 points at the Chittagong Port and Chittagong Customs House. Reports say the incidents of bribing have become less visible since the declaration of emergency but the malpractice has not stopped - bribery has gone 'underground'.
In a radical shift, port efficiency had increased by 30 per cent and cost of running business was reduced by 40 per cent since the proclamation of emergency rule two years before. The turnaround time of ships calling at the port was reduced to 4.48 days compared to 11.65 days on an average. The rate of handling of vessels at the port has also accelerated. Now there is no waiting for the vessels at the outer anchorage. Ships now can enter the Karnaphuli channel straight, without wasting any time at the outer anchorage. It means a tremendous improvement and saving for the shipping companies because the cost of waiting for a medium-size vessel at the outer anchorage is estimated between $10,000 and $15,000 a day.
In fact, no magic worked here behind the scene. The change occurred with the same groups of people who worked inside the port before proclamation of the emergency. A taskforce under the joint forces assisted the port officials in running the facilities. They discussed the problems with all the stakeholders and got hold of the corrupt trade union leaders, port officials and other criminals. Private operators, who were not allowed to work by the so-called union leaders, quickly got going with the job as part of the reform measures, and suddenly, the improvements were visible.
Indeed, Bangladesh can turn Chittagong Port into a revenue generating port if it is properly overhauled in view of landlocked Nepal, Bhutan and eastern states of India. The proposed 133km highway linking Bangladesh and Myanmar will also put the Chittagong Port and the corridor at the centre stage with the connection of 40 countries.
The smooth and efficient functioning of the Chittagong port is crucial to the country's continued development. As long as the port remains hostage to the whims of a section of workers and extortion and bribery of port and customs officials, it will never be able to perform its needed function, and the country will continue to suffer for its poor business climate. The democratically elected government should take note of this ominous sign and act accordingly to make the Chittagong port functional all the year round.
In addition, the cumbersome process still being practised to clear the documents at the Port and the Customs House also need to be streamlined. Once this is done, the degree of corruption would be curbed substantially. The premier port may then compete with neighbouring Colombo or Singapore ports in every count.
szkhan@thefinancialexpress-bd.com
The trade unionism remained banned during the two-year term of the caretaker government. After the emergency, all five trade union organisations under the dock management board were disbanded. After the take-over of the democratically elected government, these groups are resurfacing and starting movement with their various demands.
According to a report published in a national daily, dock workers of the port observed work abstention all on a sudden for a few hours and formed human chain coming out of the docks this week in support of their various demands. Berth operators and dock management say most of the demands of the workers were met earlier. There was virtually no conflict between the workers and the management. They felt embarrassed over the demands raised by the workers. A dock worker earns Tk 15,000 a month right now. Their demand to raise it to Tk 30,000 is unjustified, the management claimed.
Earlier, the trade union leaders also wanted to control port activities at their 'whims'. They reined supreme in all port related activities. There were 29 trade unions at the Chittagong Port but only nine of them were registered. Five trade union bodies represented the employees of the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) and the workers belonging to the Dock Management Board were represented through another four. But the CPA had no authority over the 20 other trade union bodies.
Before proclamation of emergency, the image of the Chittagong Port suffered badly and the port users paid the penalty. They were forced to pay 20 to 22 per cent higher freight charges than what was being charged for other ports of similar distance by the shipping companies and the port users could do nothing about it. The World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) made repeated appeals to Bangladesh to rein in the highly politicised trade union leaders and improve port functioning. But the situation only kept deteriorating.
Indeed, port congestion, corruption, and inefficiency caused the economy a net loss of over US$1.0 billion annually two years back. The development agencies have even put the loss at a much higher level - between one and two per cent of the country's GDP. Port inefficiencies also led to other losses, which became difficult to recover within a short period of time.
According to a Transparency International's (TI) study, a staggering amount of over Tk 9.43 billion had been realised from the importers and exporters at the Chittagong Port during the year 2006 as bribe. The report says that the port users had to bribe at least at 30 points at the Chittagong Port and Chittagong Customs House. Reports say the incidents of bribing have become less visible since the declaration of emergency but the malpractice has not stopped - bribery has gone 'underground'.
In a radical shift, port efficiency had increased by 30 per cent and cost of running business was reduced by 40 per cent since the proclamation of emergency rule two years before. The turnaround time of ships calling at the port was reduced to 4.48 days compared to 11.65 days on an average. The rate of handling of vessels at the port has also accelerated. Now there is no waiting for the vessels at the outer anchorage. Ships now can enter the Karnaphuli channel straight, without wasting any time at the outer anchorage. It means a tremendous improvement and saving for the shipping companies because the cost of waiting for a medium-size vessel at the outer anchorage is estimated between $10,000 and $15,000 a day.
In fact, no magic worked here behind the scene. The change occurred with the same groups of people who worked inside the port before proclamation of the emergency. A taskforce under the joint forces assisted the port officials in running the facilities. They discussed the problems with all the stakeholders and got hold of the corrupt trade union leaders, port officials and other criminals. Private operators, who were not allowed to work by the so-called union leaders, quickly got going with the job as part of the reform measures, and suddenly, the improvements were visible.
Indeed, Bangladesh can turn Chittagong Port into a revenue generating port if it is properly overhauled in view of landlocked Nepal, Bhutan and eastern states of India. The proposed 133km highway linking Bangladesh and Myanmar will also put the Chittagong Port and the corridor at the centre stage with the connection of 40 countries.
The smooth and efficient functioning of the Chittagong port is crucial to the country's continued development. As long as the port remains hostage to the whims of a section of workers and extortion and bribery of port and customs officials, it will never be able to perform its needed function, and the country will continue to suffer for its poor business climate. The democratically elected government should take note of this ominous sign and act accordingly to make the Chittagong port functional all the year round.
In addition, the cumbersome process still being practised to clear the documents at the Port and the Customs House also need to be streamlined. Once this is done, the degree of corruption would be curbed substantially. The premier port may then compete with neighbouring Colombo or Singapore ports in every count.
szkhan@thefinancialexpress-bd.com