A coalition of Indian port workers' unions has announced a strike scheduled from August 28, demanding the immediate resolution of pay revisions and pension benefits, as stated in a document signed by its members.
A strike involving India's port workers could intensify the current congestion problems at ports in Asia and Europe, resulting in further delays in shipments, which could have a significant impact on global trade and commerce.
In March 2021, India's shipping ministry established a bipartite wage negotiation committee. The workers presented their demands six months later, prior to the previous agreement's expiration in December of the same year, according to the document. Despite the committee meeting seven times, it was unable to satisfy the port workers' demands, the document noted.
The workers' group decided to initiate a strike following a meeting this month in Thoothukudi, a port city in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The government and port management are urged to address demands such as pay scale revisions, arrears payment, and the protection of existing benefits to prevent the strike, the workers' group stated in the document.
India's federal shipping ministry has not yet responded to a request for comment. The combined annual cargo handling capacity of major Indian ports like Chennai, Cochin, and Mumbai is 1.62 billion metric tonnes, according to the shipping ministry. In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, India's exports were valued at $437 billion, with imports estimated at $677 billion.
