Two aid vessels were anchored in the port last month and another two vessels arrived on 19 August. It’s the first time there has been activity in the port since navigation was forced to stop on 26 March because of ongoing war in Yemen.
“Throughout the war period the port security, maintenance and operations workers, as well as the cooperation between the workers and the disciplined port local management, contributed to protecting the port assets.” said Hamdan Al Haidari, former president of the union.
He continued: “This helped in terms of maintaining and inspecting the equipment. The union also made sure that workers received part of their salaries during the crisis even though the banks were closed.”
Bilal Malkawi, ITF regional secretary for the Arab World added: “Aden container terminal has 556 workers, all of them affiliated to the ITF union. It is a strong union and while the country was in the middle of war it helped in the repatriation of four seafarers abandoned in Hodeidah port since February 2015. This is the outcome of a regional solidarity network and the outcome of the national seminars held in the region.
“The union set a good example of how workers can protect the ports during major struggles. We were sorry to be informed that five workers lost their lives during the war, and three were injured. This is part of the price that the workers of the port and their families paid. It’s time to recover now, and we will as always support this small but strong union."
