Passions run high at fishing harbour

KOCHI: After a short interval, the Cochin Fishing Harbour is on the verge of another clash between boat owners and labourers. The latest tiff has resulted after the latter, engaged in supplying water to the boats, reportedly demanded increased wages ignoring an earlier understanding to accept a portion as advance.  The agitated labourers, demanding two per cent of the owner’s share as their wages for supplying water to boats, also took out a march at Thoppumpady on Wednesday.An unofficial understanding was reached on October 11 after a meeting convened by the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mattanchery, to settle the dispute over the issue of wages turned inconclusive.Last week, the fishing harbour had witnessed some unruly incidents, including one where a group of unknown people damaged purse -seine nets causing huge loss to the boat owners. Later, the boat owners and the labourers reached an understanding that two per cent of the boat owner’s share of the catch would be given to the labourers till the issue was settled permanently and half of it would be given as advance.As per the available information, the labourers issue arose again when the labourers demanded the same on Wednesday. Though the boat owners first refused to give the share, they had to yield to the demand later.The labour unrest at the harbour began when the operators of the purse-seine net boats refused to give a certain share of their catch to the labourers who supply water to the boats. Water is supplied to the boats by Cochin Port Trust through contractors.The practice so far had been to give three percent of the total catch to the water suppliers known as boat helpers. Three per cent comprised 1.2 per cent from the fishermen’s share and 1.8 from the owner’s share.Meanwhile, the port management said they were  ready to supply water to the boats directly, which was acceptable to the owners too. This too caused a clash between the water suppliers and the owners.Constructed in 1978, the Thopumpady Harbour is one of the major harbours in the state and is the base for around 200 fishing boats. It is also one of the few all-weather harbours in the country.  This geographical advantage and the round-the-clock operation facility attract fishermen from other states to berth at the harbour with their catch."The issue should be settled immediately as it would cause disruption in the functioning of the harbour and would affect the seafood export too. Six-and-a-half lakh tonnes of catch land here in a year.  We suspect the intervention of miscreants in the name of labourers,” said Kerala State Boat Operators’ Association general secretary Joseph Xavier Kalappurakkal.Meanwhile, the Cochin Port Labourers Union (CITU) secretary B Hamza said that the issue was owing to the lack of unity among the boat owners. “Only a section of owners agreed our demand. We want the demand to be accepted by all boat owners,” Hamza said.