ITF Unions in Maersk
Privatisation for Mombassa?
5 August 2008
Maersk seen showing interest, ITF calls for consultation
There is some anxiety as the prospect of privatisation of the port of Mombassa is in the air and has led to a call for inclusive talks.
Following a meeting between Maersk CEO Nils Andersen and Kenyan Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka in Nairobi earlier this month, locals fear the Port of Mombassa may be heading for privatisation.
The Lloyd's List daily reports that the Kenyan government’s line is that talks were about speeding up modernisation plans and dredging of the port to allow bigger ships in.
Mombassa is a major port and is government-owned. It is dogged by inefficiency, and has a backlog of some 15,000 containers as a result of IT problems. A new port management IT system was implemented at the start of July, but has not gone smoothly.
Dockers’ unions are furious with management and are threatening industrial action. The dispute focuses on rostering arrangements and overtime pay. The Kenya Ports Authority, which runs Mombassa, has called the strike illegal.
Frank Leys, Secretary of the Dockers’ Section at the ITF, says the local unions should be consulted. “If there is a privatisation the trade union representatives should be involved from the beginning of the whole process to discuss how this is going to impact on the workers. And if there’s a need for rationalisation and new technology this should be discussed with the workers too.”
The ITF does not oppose privatisation per se, but does oppose any rationalisation that weakens workers’ rights. “We have seen big companies who have done what the World Bank wants,” Leys says, adding that it sometimes has a policy of advising companies to sack its workforce and reengage them on poorer conditions.
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