The worker unions at a national
coordination committee meeting in Tuticorn (Tamil Nadu) on August 8 decided to
strike work indefinitely from August 28 to press for immediate settlement of
wage revision and benefits, pending for more than two years. Subsequently, strike notices were served to
the administrators of the respective ports on August 12.
Meanwhile, Mumbai
Port Authority Chairman, Mr. Rajeev Jalota, told PTI that a
meeting of the Bipartite Wage Negotiations Committee has been called in the
national capital on August 28 to consider the workers’ joint charter of
demands. Mr. Jalota is also the Chairman of the Bipartite Wage Negotiations
Committee.
“We have already started deliberations with the
workers’ representatives. We have invited them on August 27 in New Delhi for
discussions on their demands. We are hopeful of an (amicable) solution,” the source said.
The workers unions are affiliated
to five federations All India Port and Dock Workers’ Federation, All India Port
and Dock Workers Federation (workers), Water Transport Workers Federation of
India, Indian National Port and Dock Workers Federation and Port, Dock and
Waterfront Workers Federation of India.
According to sources at the India
Port and Dock Workers Federation (workers), the major port
operators and the federations were to sign a five-year wage revision agreement
prior to the expiry of the earlier wage pact on December 31, 2021.