A national coordination committee consisting of all the major unions in India (CITU, AITUC, INTUC, HMS, and BMS) has decided to organize a nationwide one-day protest on May 28 ahead of an indefinite strike. Port and dock workers have declared an indefinite strike from or after May 30.
The committee is calling for the Ministry of Shipping and Management to address the demands of the federations including the existing wage structure, service conditions, and pension benefits.
According to T. Narendra Rao, general secretary of the Water Transport Workers Federation of India, one of the demands includes immediate settlement of a new wage agreement including pensionary benefits with retroactive effect from January 2017.
The committee also wishes to address the concerns from Major Ports Authorities Bill 2016 which was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 16, 2016, by the Minister of State for Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan. The bill seeks to provide greater autonomy and flexibility to major ports across the country including the allowance of public-private partnerships (PPP) that are viewed by the unions as a form of outsourcing.
Union representatives also seek to retain financial protections allowed by the Indian Port Act of 1908 that required revenue to be directly deposited in the ports account funds. The Indian Ports Bill 2018 is seeking to make significant updates to allow ports more financial flexibility.
India has 12 major ports, which are handling approximately 61 percent of the country’s cargo traffic. Kandla, Mumbai, JNPT, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Kochi, Chennai, Ennore, VO Chidambaranar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip, and Kolkata are those major ports in India.
A coordinated strike at these ports that lasts more than 2-3 days is expected to have a significant negative effect on export flows, import flows, and the overall economy.