Container freight stations (CFS) servicing Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) faced mob attacks in two separate incidents recently after they laid off staff due to a dip in business with the introduction of direct port delivery in early 2017.
Buses carrying CFS employees of APM Terminals Inland Services were the target of attack by ‘some retrenched contract workers’ on August 3 and September 10.
APM Terminals, which runs two CFSs near India’s busiest container gateway, is a unit of Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk Group A/S that also runs Maersk Line, the world’s biggest container shipping company.
“Due to evolving business environment, APM Terminals Inland Services had taken a difficult yet unavoidable decision to reduce contractual workforce employed by Orient Freight Services at one of APM Terminals’ Container Freight Stations (Main CFS) in Nhava Sheva. This decision was taken to ensure the sustainability of operations at the facility. The retrenchment was carried out as per the law and all contractual obligations were fulfilled. The retrenched contract workforce was demanding reinstatement which was not a possible option for APM Terminals Inland Services, and the same was clearly communicated to them,” a spokesperson for APM Terminals Inland Services told BusinessLine.
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