**UPDATE 12th December – Fears of a strike are now over as a new five-year labour agreement is finally approved.
Original Article:
Port workers are close to going on an indefinite strike at India’s state run ports this month unless the government address their ongoing labour concerns.
Back in August, unions called off a strike at the last minute on the understanding their wages and productivity schemes would be resolved. However, four months later, it appears the dispute continues.
Port workers have confirmed they will stage indefinite work stoppages across state run ports from December 17th unless the government resolve the outstanding issues before December 15th.
Most of India’s major ports are managed by the state and will therefore be impacted by any strike action. However, private ports, such as Mundra, Kattupalli and Ennore, are not expected to be.
Ports in India have struggled this year, having already been impacted by ongoing congestion issues and further disruption could make the situation a lot worse.
Of course, exporters and importers through the country will be hopeful that the government are able to resume talks in the next week to avoid the strike. Fingers crossed!
