Stakeholders Welcome Port Report

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Thursday, 17 May 2012 02:30

By Everton Barnes

Antigua St John's - Several of the stakeholders who interact with the Antigua Port Authority have welcomed the report submitted to the board of directors recommending sweeping changes to operations at the statutory body.

Both trade unions, which represent staff at the facility, have issued a cautious welcome to the report. Key points were made public in a verbal presentation to the media and stakeholders on Tuesday.

The Antigua Trades and Labour Union (AT&LU) and the Antigua and Barbuda Workers Union (ABWU) have said they will reserve a detailed response to the report after they have received a copy and have had time to peruse it in detail.

“From what has been presented, the consultants Adair and Associates of Jamaica have arrived at some of the same recommendations that we have been making for many years. However, the AT&LU will write to the board requesting that we be presented with a copy of our own,” Industrial Relations Officer Ralph Potter said.

General Secretary David Massiah meanwhile said the recommendations relating to the port management reflect the views of his union.

“The consultants stated that yes the port needs management, but it requires management with training in port operations in order to understand the intricacies of running a modern port,” Massiah said.

He said the union is not opposed to the recommendations relating to job cuts, although he is of the view that this should follow discussions with all the stakeholders to be affected by the move.

“We are very concerned about the survival of the port, and we wish to see proper systems put in place to ensure the long-term viability of the enterprise,” he said.

Meanwhile, General Manager of Bryson’s Shipping Nathan Dundas, one of the shipping agents using the port, said the agents are not surprised at the drastic nature of the recommendations.

Dundas said the shipping agents noted with interest the observation by the consultants about the absence of strategic management competences at the Port Authority. “The report said there was no process management, no plans, that the management team was not proactive and it lacked strategic management skills. That issue is critical to all the challenges faced by the port,” he said.

He pointed to the constant breakdown in equipment at the port and how this affected productivity. “These constant breakdowns cost the shipping agents significant additional costs as the port insists on billing for storage even when the removal of containers has been delayed due to the failure of its (the port) equipment,” he said.

He said the consultants also recommend updating the tariff charges, described as archaic. He noted that these tariffs have been in place since 1985.

According to Dundas, the report calls for a shakeup in the management team as part of the overall upgrading of the facility. “At present the St John’s port is ranked number 30 of 52 ports in the Caribbean.

Others ports have been doing well because they implemented changes to improve overall efficiencies. Antigua & Barbuda needs to take similar steps,” he concluded.

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