Indian Government to Talk with Port Unions

The Indian Shipping Ministry agreed to hold talks with port union leaders in a bid to avert a planned strike by workers employed at major ports. Shipping Minister G.K. Vasan will chair a meeting in New Delhi on Sept. 8.

The move comes after leaders of the five labor federations, representing nearly 100,000 workers, threatened to stage an indefinite strike starting Sept. 15 to protest delays in approving a new wage agreement, despite a series of marathon negotiations with the Indian Ports Association.

The workers were demanding a 34-percent increase in wages, while the IPA offered a hike of 18 percent.

Union leaders said they are optimistic about reaching a settlement that would avoid disruptions at major gateway hubs through the intervention of the minister.

There are 12 major ports in India, equally spread over the east and west coasts, which handled 530.35 million tons of cargo in fiscal 2008-09, up from 519.31 million tons the previous year. Container traffic increased to 6.85 million 20-foot equivalent units from 6.71 million TEUs, with the Port of Jawaharlal Nehru moving 3.95 million TEUs.