You’re being dishonest, Mungatana tells union

Kenya Ports Authority Chairman Danson Mungatana. A war of words between the Dock Workers Union (DWU) and Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) continued Tuesday with the parastatal’s chairman accusing the former of dishonesty. PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT | FILE

What you need to know:

  • Mr Mungatana noted that any claims that the union was sidelined was “news to him.”
  • The union has threatened to call a strike if plans to privatise the port continued.
  • DWU secretary-general Simon Sang said the union was crafting its own charter.

A war of words between the Dock Workers Union (DWU) and Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) continued Tuesday with the parastatal’s chairman accusing the former of dishonesty.

The DWU was fully involved in crafting the Mombasa Port Community Service Charter (MPCSC) and allegations that it was sidelined were surprising, Mr Danson Mungatana said.

The union has opposed the charter, arguing that it calls for the privatisation of the port.

The workers also claimed that they were not consulted when the document was crafted.

But Mr Mungatana maintained that the union participated in all meetings ahead of the charter’s formulation.

The KPA chairman, who was speaking at his Ngao Village home in Tana Delta sub-county on Saturday, said union officials were well briefed of the initial discussions right from the word go.

STRIKE THREAT

Mr Mungatana noted that any claims that the union was sidelined was “news to him.”

“I want to say that discussions for the formation of this charter were not started yesterday and all the stakeholders, including the dockers’ union, were well involved,” he said, asserting that anybody claiming otherwise was trying to play politics.

The chairman said the charter intended to reduce the number of days for cargo clearance at the port to less than five by merging all its departments.

The union has threatened to call a strike if plans to privatise the port continued.

DWU secretary-general Simon Sang said the union was crafting its own charter.