Brava: Dockers meet with MpD deputy with work situation on the agenda

The Port of Furna stevedores met on Friday with the deputy of the Movement for Democracy (MpD – situation), David Gomes, to analyze the labor situation of the stevedoring class on the island.

Speaking to the press, the spokesman for the stevedores of the National Company of Port Administration (Enapor), on duty in the port of Furna, Henrique Oliveira as stevedoring foreman, explained that the meeting aimed to demonstrate the situation in which they live and “asking for support from those entitled to intervene in resolving the problem”.

According to him, they have been working, but the “salary sheet does not correspond to the value stipulated in the table and what has always been practiced”.

The spokesperson underlined that they did not want the situation to go or reach this point, because there was never any problem between the colleagues, much less with the previous delegates.

Meanwhile, he complained that the current delegate has been on the island for about six months and they have already addressed his office hundreds of times and the problem “is simply salary”.

“As we work, so should we receive, because there is a table in force for all ports. On the 1st of May, we worked with dirty loads at night and received 2,000 escudos, which is not fair”, said the source.

In view of the situation, the source said that if the situation is not resolved, they will send a letter and then organize an indefinite strike until the situation returns to normal.

For his part, deputy David Gomes clarified that the dockers had been asking them these questions for a few days and with today's meeting he will also hear the Enapor delegate in Brava.

Afterwards, he stressed that he will forward these questions to the chairman of the board of directors of Enapor who, according to him, is “the most suitable person to solve this problem”.

The deputy reinforced that if there is no answer, the question will be taken to the Government, because these people “cannot lose income, especially in a small port, where the movement has significantly decreased with the introduction of Roll-on/Roll-off boats”.

In reaction to the wage concerns presented by the dockers, Enapor's management issued a press release, adding that "there is no irregularity in wage processing", adding that the company "has always complied and is scrupulously complying with the tariffs and ton in force".

“It is neither lawful nor fair to earn wages different from those stipulated in the ton agreement signed between the workers' unions, the União Sindical Regional da Brava and Enapor, in December 2005”, adds the same statement.

According to the document, what is intended by the port workers ends up “forcing” customers to pay amounts higher than what is due, and in addition to “not being correct, it penalizes customers, makes the passage of goods through the Port of Furna more expensive, and with consequences direct effects on product prices in the local market”.

In view of the situation, Enapor's management advanced that it will require an independent audit by the General Labor Inspectorate, as well as a meeting with the workers' representative unions for the full clarification of the matter.