IDIAN PORTS OFFER WAGE HIKES TO AVERT DOCKWORKER STRIKE

Logistic News

IDIAN PORTS OFFER WAGE HIKES TO AVERT DOCKWORKER STRIKE

27 August 2024

Indian ports authority proposes wage hike to avert strike by dockworkers, to avoid disruption to trade amid current difficulties.

Pipavav Port, one of the leading seaports in India and the 2nd largest private port

Efforts by stakeholders to avert a nationwide strike at Indian ports appear to have begun. The Indian Ports Authority has informed stevedore unions, who have threatened to stage an indefinite strike from August 28, of a revised wage hike proposal that it is willing to implement as a conciliatory gesture.

Union sources spoke to Container News and confirmed the approach from the Indian Ports Association (IPA), a body that manages 12 major ports in the country.

"The unions are studying the proposal and will hold a general meeting on August 24 to decide on the next course of action," a union representative said.

However, the labour groups appear to be in no mood to compromise on their demands, saying the proposal is not even worth negotiating.

“The proposed amendments are very meager,” the source pointed out. “The last wage adjustment package was implemented in 2017, which was supposed to be extended to 2022,” the official added.

“The unions will discuss a coordinated position to be communicated to the port authority,” the source added.

The IPA invited workers’ representatives to the first round of negotiations on August 27, shortly before the threatened action took place.

“The proposed amendments must comply with the ministry’s guidance that wage adjustments must be conditioned on no increase in labor costs per unit of actual output,” the authority stated in the letter.

The IPA also clarified: “Therefore, individual ports can come up with a settlement plan in a staggered manner to control labor costs per unit of actual output.”

It remains to be seen whether the two sides will agree to a deal at the proposed meeting in New Delhi on August 27.

For now, the seemingly defiant stance of union leaders has raised fears of a nationwide strike at seaports, which could cause disruption to trade sectors already grappling with the lingering effects of challenges related to the Red Sea crisis.

Source: Container News