Indian dockworker unions at major government ports have revived their strike intentions after a series of failed negotiation sessions.
A consortium of five national labour federations has vowed to stage a one-day “token” strike on 5 April to exert pressure on the government and port authorities. They had agreed to put their previous notice — calling for an indefinite nationwide strike on or after 15 December 2021 — on hold in response to an invitation from the Indian Port Association (IPA) for talks.
“From the meeting, we could realise that almost all the problems highlighted by the Federations, which are directly related to the port workers, are still pending for decision by the Ministry,” the federations said in a fresh joint notice. “The lethargic, indecisive and illegal attitude of the authorities had created labour unrest in the major ports.”
Unions are particularly pushing for a firm commitment from the government on three key demands: protection of jobs and benefits for existing and retired employees; inclusion of labour nominees on the ‘Major Port Authorities Board’ and continued union representation on the administrative board of each port.
The recast Major Port Authorities Bill 2021, which came into force in November last year, is broadly aimed at transforming major port trusts into a corporate style of functioning with greater operational freedom to enable them to better compete with minor/private port entities – dominated by Adani Group — and keep pace with evolving industry dynamics.
According to industry sources, continued union representation on reconstituted port administrative bodies became a major sticking point in the conciliatory talks. Unions were also seeking wage contract negotiations as part of their charter of demands.
“Non-compliance of several statutory settlements has deteriorated the situation further and thereby the Federations were compelled to serve the strike notice,” the union group said. “Unfortunately, we feel that the Management/Ministry, as usual, are fooling the trade unions and leaders by adopting unfair tactics by delaying decisions on their own creations.”
India has 12 major government-controlled ports and the strike threat comes at a time when port volumes are strong. According to the latest data, combined container volumes between April and February (the first 11 months of the fiscal year 2021-22) have hit the 10 million-TEU mark, up from 8.5 million TEUs in the year-ago period.
Additionally, overall cargo tonnage for the 11-month period rose about 8% to 650.5 million tons, from 604 million tons year over year.
While that is a positive sign, major port leaders need to devise new growth strategies and raise their service levels to prevent a steady erosion of market share to non-major handlers.
Jenny Daniel
India correspondent
