KOCHI: Ports employees should understand the changes happening in the sector, said Indian Ports Association chairman Sanjay Bhatia on Wednesday. He was delivering the keynote address at the trade union conference in connection with the national conference of the All India Port and Dock Workers Federation (AIPDWF) being held in the city. “Oil handling forms a major chunk of income of the Mumbai port. But since the automobile industry is set to undergo drastic changes with the arrival of electrically-powered vehicles, a fall in the income of ports which handle oil can be expected. The world is changing. We should accept it and change accordingly,” Bhatia said.
“Projects worth `8 lakh crore, aimed at modernisation, capacity enhancement, improved connectivity and port-led industrial development, are being implemented under the Sagarmala project,” he said.Bhatia said trade unions were essential for the existence of democracy. “If trade unions and management function hand in hand for the sustainability of respective PSUs, a proposal for privatisation will never arise,” he said. He said the land in possession of ports can be leveraged for the joint ventures with government agencies. HMS national general secretary Harbhajan Singh Sidhu inaugurated the conference. Former MP Thampan Thomas presided over.