Angry port workers in Thailand are threatening to extend their strike to the country’s deep-sea port in a dispute over appointments to the Port Authority of Thailand.
After a day of rallies, thousands of port workers in Bangkok went on strike on Tuesday, disrupting the unloading of container ships at Klong Toey.
Union leaders said they would move against Laem Chabang in Chonburi to the south if demands were not met.
Klong Toey is the country’s main port, but the newer and partially privatized Laem Chabang has greater capacity, can handle bigger ships and is used by more exporters. Klong Toey normally handles about 3,000 TEUs a day.
The government is prodding carriers to make more use of Laem Chabang to help unclog the Klong Toey facilities in central Bangkok. Some lines didn’t need much nudging, because it is less corrupt thanks in part to private operators.
Port officials said the initial Bangkok protest delayed more than 4 billion baht ($97 million) worth of cargo on Tuesday. Losses by lines are estimated in the tens of millions of baht, while customs lost about $2. 4 million.
Shipping agents and other businesses filed complaints, demanding that the port authority compensate them.
The transport ministry said that if ships were unable to operate because of the strike, other ports would be found for them. That won’t be easy for large, modern ships.
The protest involves the appointment of outsiders as new director-general of the port agency and director of the Port of Laem Chabang. The union wants senior officials to be promoted instead.
It claims there was political interference in the appointments of Anothai Uthensut and Apichai Techa-ubon, particularly by the deputy transport and communications minister, Chaiya Sasomsap. The union further says Anothai himself took a hand in Apichai’s appointment at Laem Chabang.
The Transport and Communications Ministry, which oversees the port agency, has deferred its formal request for Cabinet endorsement of the two appointments, the Nation newspaper said.
Union leaders are demanding withdrawal of the two appointments, removal of Anothai from the agency’s board of commissioners and appointment of “experienced port administrators” to the two posts.
The Port of Thailand Authority is forecasting Laem Chabang could be handling 8. 5 million TEUs by 2025 at three terminal groups. It opened in 1996 and is split between state and private operators.
Manila-based International Container Terminal Services Inc. has 49 percent of Thai Laem Chabang Terminal Co. and a 30-year concession to operate the A2 terminal. It is intended to be a gateway for Indochina and transshipment to and from Thailand and is the only multipurpose terminal at Laem Chabang.
Also participating at Laem Chabang are Evergreen Container Terminal (Thailand), a unit of Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine Corp. ; the NYK Distribution Service arm of NYK Line; and Siam Shoreside Service and Eastern Sea Laem Chabang Terminal Co.
