Major port workers unions in India plan indefinite strike

The national co-ordination committee of six federations of major port workers also decided to call for a nationwide one-day protest strike on 28 May against “the casual attitude of the ministry of shipping and Indian Ports Association (IPA) in settling the demands of the port workers for revising the existing wage structure and other service conditions, including pensionary benefits with effect from January 2017 consequent to the expiry of the existing wage settlement”.

Labor groups representing dockworkers employed at major ports at a joint meeting this week in New Delhi voted to stage an indefinite nationwide industrial action to press for changes in the Major Ports Authority Bill 2016.

The IPA management and the government have “neglected repeated assurances given to the workers’ federations including amending the Major Port Authorities Bill and recognition of trade unions based on the recommendations of the parliamentary standing committee. The IPA has also assured implementation of various statutory settlements, but so far none of the demands have been settled. The federations have been also demanding equal payment to contract workers performing similar nature of jobs and their regularization,” Rao said.