Work at all major ports across the country is likely to be paralysed from January 4 as five federations representing more than 60,000 port and dock workers across 12 major ports in the country have decided to go on strike from January 4 following failure of a wage dispute settlement, All India Port & Dock Workers Federation said on Monday.
"Talks were inconclusive. The managements are refusing to negotiate on paying allowances retrospectively to workers. They are going back on terms agreed on earlier. We have decided to go on strike from January 4," All India Port and Dock Workers' Federation general secretary S R Kulkarni told reporters in Mumbai.
Arrears on allowances are payable to over 60,000 workers with effect from January 1, 2007.
Port managements want to pay allowances prospectively once a settlement is arrived at, which the federations are opposed to.
"Three years have passed in negotiations with the government but no fruitful results have come yet. Payment of allowances prospectively will affect the workers. We decided to go on strike as a last option," Kulkarni said.
The proposed strike will hamper cargo handling capacity of almost 10,500 tonnes per day and an estimated revenue loss of Rs 500 crore (Rs 50 billion).
