HAULAGE contractors and operators returned to work yesterday, following a two-day strike which resulted in a pile-up of 900 shipping containers at the Kingston Freeport Terminal (KFT), as operations at the facility came to a halt.

The situation at the terminal reportedly reached boiling point last week Friday, when truckers had to wait more that six hours to retrieve containers from the facility, instead of the customary 45-minute wait. Much of this, the truckers say, is due to insufficient and outdated equipment at KFT.

After numerous meetings with the operators of the terminal, the protesters said they were fed up and decided to withdraw their services on Tuesday.

But, General Manager of the Port Trailer Haulage Association Ricardo Valentine said yesterday that, following an emergency meeting, the truckers have come to an agreement with KFT.

“After Thursday’s meeting, they will be giving us 10 straddle carriers until they clear up the current backlog, and in future, the terminal will dedicate eight straddle carriers for use in the domestic area, under normal operations. The idea is to increase the turnaround time, which is dependent on how quick they can operate in that delivery area,” Valentine said.

He continued: “Whilst they are introducing new operating systems and upgrading the layout of the facility, we are trying to identify the areas that need to be fixed so that movement is quicker than is [currently] happening. The transfer was a big part of it, as they did not have sufficient equipment in the domestic area to transfer the container to the truck as quickly as possible.”

The KFT currently has 44 straddle carriers working both ship and domestic sides, the Port Trailer Haulage Association general manager said. However, in the event of heavy shipments, Valentine said most of the equipment is transferred to the shipping area resulting in a need for equipment in the domestic area.

Valentine said the truckers also requested that the pre-staging or transferring of the containers to the domestic area occur overnight, to facilitate easy retrieval, as the containers are only retrieved when the truckers go to collect them in the mornings, thus extending the waiting period.

He said, following the meeting, the operators of the terminal have given assurances that the truckers’ concerns will be dealt with.

In the meantime, the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has called on the Government to tackle the long waiting period at the point of entry “expeditiously and effectively”, as the long-term impact on the economy can be debilitating and threatens employment and production at various levels.

“This delay impacts the earnings of both drivers and contractors as well as affects the delivery of cargo to businesses and communities islandwide, ” PNP parliamentarian Fitz Jackson said.

“Critical products do not get to communities in reasonable time and unnecessary and extensive delays have a negative impact on business operators and the economy at large,” he said.

The Port Trailer Haulage Association has also asked the KFT to waive all storage fees that might have been incurred since Friday.

The association and operators of the Kingston Freeport Terminal will again meet on August 21.