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Officials said that a drafting committee will be constituted by the wage committee scheduled for Wednesday, which will prepare a settlement within 10 days.
Port workers who had called for an indefinite nationwide strike starting Wednesday have deferred their call after successful negotiations with the Union government.
“The nationwide indefinite strike called by six federations of port and dock workers from August 28 is deferred consequent to a memorandum of understanding between the chairman of the IPA, the MD of IPA, and representatives of the six federations,” a joint statement said.
The statement was signed by union leaders from the All India Port and Dock Workers Federation, the All India Port and Dock Workers Federation (Workers), the Water Transport Workers Federation of India, the Indian National Port and Dock Workers Federation, the Port, Dock, and Waterfront Workers Federation of India, and the Bharatiya Port and Dock Mazdoor Mahasangh.
A crucial meeting between labour unions of the country’s 12 major ports, the Union minister for ports, shipping, and waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, and the Indian Ports Association (IPA) on wage revision and pension benefits reached a consensus, potentially averting a strike that could disrupt India’s shipping.
“The Bipartite Wage Negotiation Committee meeting saw discussions between union leaders and the Indian Ports Association, and a fitment benefit of 8.5 per cent on the aggregate amount of basic pay as of December 31, 2021, plus 30 per cent of VDA as of January 1, 2022, shall be given,” sources aware of the developments said.
This was later confirmed by the official statement from the national coordination committee of major ports workers federations.
“It was decided that the pay scales effective from January 1, 2022, shall be formulated as per existing practice,” they added. The period of settlement will be from January 2022 to December 2026.
A request by this paper for comment from the ministry of ports, shipping, and waterways was not responded to at the time of publishing.
Sonowal is said to have intervened to ensure the settlement on the fitment benefit to 8.5 per cent.
Officials said that a drafting committee will be constituted by the wage committee scheduled for Wednesday, which will prepare a settlement within 10 days.
The committee will comprise one representative from each of the six federations and representatives from management.
At the crucial meeting, the management assured the protesting federations that BWNC proceedings shall be concluded by the settlement within 15 days.
In the past, the wage negotiation committee had met several times, only for no consensus to be reached and the workers’ demands remaining unmet.
The call for a strike had become a cause for concern for traders and transporters, anticipating congestion and price hikes. The strike would have reportedly cost Rs 125 crore in losses for every day that it went on.
Sources at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), responsible for handling a bulk of container trade, said that there would have been no impact of the strike on the port’s operations.
“There was a concern that when cargo traffic gets diverted from ports where the workers are on strike to private ports, freight costs may increase on account of a congestion surcharge,” said the chairman of a freight forwarding body earlier on Tuesday.
Global logistics players had begun taking note of the situation. APL Logistics, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Kintetsu World Express Group, a Japanese transportation company, had said in an advisory on Monday that it was monitoring the situation in India.
Business Standard has reviewed a copy of the signed joint statement.
First Published: Aug 27 2024 | 9:51 PM IST
