17 ships sail into Colombo Port turned back due to recent protest by port TUs: Minister

Seventeen ships that arrived at Colombo Port turned back due to the recent protest by the port trade unions, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said today.

He told Parliament that he made a tremendous effort to bring them back to the port and said he only managed to bring only a few of them back.

"I discussed with shipping agencies to bring the ships back to the port. But, I only managed to bring only a few of them," he said.

The Minister said the protests by the port employees will only result in deviating business of the Colombo port to nearby ports such as India, Dubai and Singapore. 

"If port employees continue to protest, our port will collapse while ports in countries close to us will flourish," he said.

The Minister said port employees, unlike other state employees, earn a monthly salary or over Rs. 171,000, three meals free of charge, a huge bonus and other benefits. (Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera)