Go-slow campaign by SAGT workers over Avurudu bonus hits Colombo Port

By Charumini de Silva

The prevailing go-slow campaign by workers at the South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT) due to a dispute over their Avurudu bonus has affected Port of Colombo operations, with some ships bypassing it.

“Since last Tuesday operations at the terminal have been slower than normal. We have been advised that the workers are disgruntled about the annual bonus,” SAGT Chief Executive Officer Erwin Haaze told Daily FT. 

According to him, the bonus has been paid in accordance with the Collective Agreement (CA) which was reached about six months ago. The bonus payment structure represents a particular number of months’ salary and is actually the highest to be paid in SAGT’s history, he added. Haaze said that the company had taken a stand against this unjustified and illegal disruption which was holding the company to ransom. 

“Although this could mean that there is no quick solution, the management nevertheless is doing its utmost to get this situation resolved as soon as possible,” Haaze assured.

He said that the management of SAGT was in contact with the other two container terminals - Jaye Container Terminal (JCT) and Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT) - at the Port of Colombo and could count on their support to ensure limited impact on the Port of Colombo and its customers.

Shipping industry sources said that although CICT and JCT support has been forthcoming, several ships that were unwilling to wait have bypassed Colombo, causing a loss of revenue and endangering the reliability of the Colombo Port.

SAGT, the first private container terminal operator in Sri Lanka, was ranked No. 1 in South Asia and No. 4 in the world for Terminal Productivity by the US’ Journal of Commerce recently.