THE END to the truck drivers’ has breathed a new lease of life into the construction industry, but it will take a while for matters to return to normal, the Building Contractors’ Association chairman Dimitris Sampson said yesterday.
Meanwhile at Limassol, port authorities were working round the clock to clear the thousands of containers that had accumulated over the past week.
Truck drivers locked in a dispute over professional licences agreed on Wednesday night to suspend their action until July 28 to give negotiations a chance.
Representatives of the truckers will meet officials at the Communications Ministry on Monday in an attempt to hammer out their differences.
The building industry had warned it would have to start laying people off from Monday had the strike continued, with truckers blockading cement works across the island, and building supplies running out.
“As you know stocks are gravely depleted and it is essential that they are replenished as soon as possible,” Sampson said yesterday. “Slowly, slowly workers will resume their day to day activities, but it is not yet possible for all workers to return to work.”
Since the beginning of the strike a number of construction workers have been sent home due to the lack of raw materials required, but Sampson was quick to point out that the workforce would resume their work in full very soon. “The layoffs were temporary. Salaries that were halved over the period of the strike will return to normal levels, as soon as the industry is able to work at its optimum capacity.”
When quizzed over the summer break within which workers will take their scheduled leave, Sampson was quick to point out that workers would not be held back from their time off. “Obviously, workers who have pencilled in their days off over the August period will not be restrained from taking time away with their families. Contractors are obliged to make every possible attempt to address the delays that have occurred over the past week, but workers will not be told to work overtime during the month of August.”
At Limassol port, 100 containers were leaving every hour, as the island’s import and export trade groaned back into action.
Harbourmaster Cristos Matsis told reporters: “From 7.30am, containers are constantly being loaded up for inland transport. We estimate that about 100 containers are leaving every hour, and we expect that by the evening we will have cleared more than 1,000 containers.”
He added teams would be working until 10 or 11pm if needed.
More than 4,000 containers had accumulated at Limassol port over the eight days of the strike, and new shipments are arriving all the time, adding to the difficulties faced by the authorities. Another 500 containers arrived yesterday.
Containers for export were also being loaded up ahead of week that is expected to see heavy traffic at the port.
Matsis added he hoped the situation would be back to normal by Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest.
