Lorry drivers strike at Limassol port

Lorry drivers at Limassol port on Monday began an indefinite strike, saying they had received “zero response” from the port’s management company Eurogate over a raft of concerns and leaving a meeting with Finance Minister Makis Keravnos and Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou dissatisfied last week.

Trade union Povek representative Kyriakos Moustakas on Monday spoke of four key issues: tachographs, the heights of containers being loaded onto lorries, the charges levied by Eurogate for containers which remain in port, and the non-release of containers through no fault of the lorry driver.

On the third point, he said Eurogate counts the date of the ship’s arrival as a full billing day, even if a shop docks in the afternoon, resulting in higher charges for the lorry drivers.

“We ask that the day of arrival not be counted, because by the time the procedures are completed and unloading begins, the day is lost,” he said.

Over the matter of the non-release of containers, he said lorries are “often blocked” when attempting to exit the port, “despite having all the legal documents from the customs agent and the customs office, because of outstanding debts concerning the shipowner or the agent.

“The lorry driver is forced to pay charges which do not belong to him, wasting time and working days. This is unacceptable,” he said.

He added that those issues had been raised with the company, but said that “unfortunately, there was no sensitivity” on the company’s part, despite his assertion that his union’s suggestions would entail no extra cost for the company and “would significantly help the operation … and reduce the problems we faced”.

Of the meeting with Keravnos and Panayiotou, he said workers “were not convinced that the solutions proposed would be implemented”.

“We hope that there will be second thoughts and that we will be invited to dialogue again,” he said.

Later on Monday, the transport ministry said it was “concerned” about the strike, especially in light of the fact that the road transport department has begun consultations with the aim of amending laws related to the operation of container lorries.

One of the planned amendments, it said, concerns the permitted load height of containers, which it plans to raise, while another will regulate the lateral protection of semi-trailers which have the ability to change their length.

It added that it is committed to “continuous dialogue and cooperation with all stakeholders in the sector, with the aim of promoting solutions which enhance the safety of road transport”.