Rotterdam Unions and Employers Returning to Negotiating Table

ITF The Port of Rotterdam Authority is scheduled to meet with the trade unions today to hold exploratory talks with both the unions and the employers with the aim of avoiding further industrial action at the port. Namely, the Dutch dockers’ union FNV Havens staged a 24-hour strike at the port on January 7th after employers failed to meet demands over job guarantees once two new Maasvlakte terminals become fully operational in Rotterdam. Both the APMT and the ECT terminals were affected for a 24-hour period, the union said. FNV Havens wants a guarantee of job security for all employees who had a permanent job on 1 January 2015, until at least 2022. On Friday 8 January at 15.15, work was resumed at the container terminals thereby ending the strike. The Port of Rotterdam Authority deeply regrets this strike the consequences are particularly negative for the international reputation of the port. The Port of Rotterdam is working hard behind the scenes to take up the discussions between trade unions, employers and the Port Authority again as quickly as possible. The areas of disagreement appear to be limited, and we are working on solving them, the port authority said. According to the secretary of union FN Havens, Niek Stam, the strike from last week doesnt exclude further industrial action should the parties fail to return to the negotiating table and try to reach an agreement.