VISAKHAPATNAM: The first round of negotiations between striking boat workers and boat owners of fishing harbour failed on Tuesday.Around 800 mechanised boats were anchored at the fishing harbour for the past 12 days with thousands of boat workers protesting reduction of their share in the total catch by mechanised boat owners citing poor catch and losses.Visakhapatnam Fishing Harbour Workers' Union secretary JD Naidu said the workers used to get a share of 10 per cent from the total catch, but now the boat owners have decided to reduce the share to five to seven per cent.Moreover, even the small dry fish was also being taken away by the owners, he added. Naidu demanded that the owners should pay 12 per cent share of the total catch as well as dry fish, besides around Rs five lakh insurance to all boat workers and drivers as their life was at a risk.However, leaders of AP Mechanised Boat Operators' Association and Dolphin Boat Operators' Welfare Association claimed that due to poor catch owing to high marine pollution, entry of foreign vessels into Indian waters and hike in prices of diesel and ice they were incurring huge losses and were not in a position to give 12 per cent share of the catch to workers in the present circumstances.As the boat owners didn't evoke any positive response, another round of talks are likely to be held on Thursday. It may be recalled that about 2,000 boat owners and drivers staged a massive protest in front of the Collectorate recently and submitted a representation to collector Lav Agarwal to redress their problems.
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