Port of Spain employees agree to work longer hours

Staff at the container examination station of Trinidad & Tobago's Port of Spain have agreed to work longer hours from October 27-31 to deal with the backlog caused by striking haulers, paper Trinidad Express reported. Foreign used car dealers recently posted complaints stating they were being forced to pay excessive fees for extra hours at the port because of the container backlog, sparking protests by some haulers who blamed port authorities for the situation. The deal was reached in a meeting on October 27, in which CES staff agreed to work 12 hours a day for a week, port CEO Wieger Koomstra was quoted as saying. However, Koomstra added these new operating hours at CES will be reviewed early November. The meeting was attended by representatives from Port of Spain, the customs department, the haulers association and the customs brokers association, among other entities.