Indias Dockworkers Planning Nationwide Strike

JNPT Indias labour unions, representing dockworkers employed at major ports, have announced an indefinite nationwide industrial action starting April 19, 2017. The ports that are likely to be affected by the strike are Kolkata, Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Tuticorin, Cochin, New Mangalore, Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Kandla and Marmugao. JNPT port authorities have already been given notice by dockworker unions. The strike is targeting changes proposed in the Major Ports Authority Bill 2016 aimed at restructuring the countrys port system. The workers are demanding job security in addition to protection of existing and retirement benefits. The bill is aimed at reorienting the governance model in central ports to landlord port model. The new bill also allows leasing of land for port related use for up to 40 years. The move to decentralization comes as India endeavors to boost the competitiveness of its ports, starting with Jawaharlal Nehru Port which is about to undergo a major deepening project so as to be able to receive 12,500 TEU containerships. The port currently handles vessels with a capacity of up to 6,000 TEUs. To that end, earlier this month, JNPT awarded a joint venture of Royal Boskalis Westminster and Jan De Nul with a USD 250 million contract for the deepening and widening of the access channel towards Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai. The works are scheduled to commence in the coming weeks and will be completed within two years, Boskalis said. World Maritime News Staff