Indian Port Workers Call Off Strike After Agreeing To New Wage Settlement

The Indian port workers called off their strike on August 28, 2024, after reaching a new five-year wage agreement, avoiding a potential disruption to the global supply chain.

The agreement, reached after lengthy negotiations, includes an 8.5% wage increase spread over five years. The workers’ unions, which had earlier demanded a 10.6% raise, agreed to the revised terms.

The salary agreement was confirmed in a document signed by union officials and reviewed by Reuters.

The negotiations between port workers’ unions and the government began in March 2021, when a bipartisan wage negotiating committee was established.

Six months later, the workers submitted their demands, expecting the end of the previous wage agreement in December of the same year. Despite the lengthy discussions, an agreement was reached in New Delhi with India’s leading port authority.

Narendra Rao, a member of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions’ working committee, said that the pay hike will be retroactive to January 1, 2022.

The unions at India’s 12 major state-run ports had been urging salary increases and increased pension benefits, resulting in a strike threat at a meeting in Thoothukudi, a port city in Tamil Nadu.

Ports like Chennai, Cochin, and Mumbai, handling a combined 1.62 billion metric tons of cargo annually, would have faced major operational disruptions if the strike had occurred.

India, a leading global exporter, is heavily dependent on the smooth operation of these major ports.

The recently signed wage agreement has avoided a nationwide strike, ensuring the continued flow of goods through some of the country’s largest maritime terminals.

Reference: Reuters

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