The acting president of Cochin Port Employees Sangh Maxi Didacos today denied reports that he had written a letter to the Director of General Shipping drawing attention to the increasing frequency of marine accidents in the vicinity of Cochin Port.
Didaos said that letter was not given by the Employees Sangh.
“This is a clear case of forgery aimed at tarnishing the reputation of both the Union and its working president,” he said.
He pointed out that the Union, Cochin Port Employees Sangh, has been affiliated to Bharathiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) which is the biggest trade union in the country and that the name of the Union has been misused to damage the reputation of BMS.The letter has been forged due to the trade union rivalry inside the port.
The employees are on a strike at the Port and except Employees Sangh all others are on strike.
To tarnish the image of the Sangh, some other trade unions might have misused the name,” he added. Earlier, it was reported that frequent accidents have raised serious concerns about the safety norms adopted by vessel plying through Cochin channel.
The letter send to Director General Shipping said that a preliminary inquiry into the dredger incident recently reveals that dredger lost control after steering gear break down. But, further investigation reveals that dredger was operating for past several months with a defective steering system. It was stated that the dredger is employing navigating officers and engineers who are retired and do not have essential valid certificates of competency. After the incident, the Port authorities are still operating the dredger without getting the essential system repaired, which was reported in the forged letter and it was not true, he added.