Dock workers returned to work on the 3 pm shift yesterday at the Port of Port-of-Spain.However, president of the Seamen and Waterfront Workers' Trade Union (SWWTU) Michael Annisette said while he encouraged the workers to resume duties, he questioned why protest action had to be taken to get the attention of Port Authority officials.
He spoke with reporters after meeting with workers who staged an early morning protest yesterday.He said an October letter warned management of the urgent need to address the issue of outstanding negotiations since dockworkers were growing uneasy. Some 1,700 workers are employed at the port.
He said: "I am happy to report that having had a brutally frank meeting with the workers and representatives at the port, they have agreed, based on my advice, to return to work from the three o'clock shift this evening and I anticipate that there would be a smooth handover for the shift."Annisette praised the workers for returning to work since Friday.
The workers' actions were to protest the authority's failure to discuss a new collective agreement since the expiration of the last one 40 months ago.
