Labour peace has been restored at India’s major public ports after the government cleared a new wage agreement for implementation.
A federation of six national labour groups, representing dockworkers, had threatened to launch an indefinite strike from 17 December, prompting officials at the Ministry of Shipping to intervene and address the workers’ grievances.
“We have received an order from the Indian Ports Association (IPA) directing all the major port authorities to implement the Bipartite Wage Negotiation Committee (BWNC) Settlement, signed before the Labour Commissioner on 27 September,” a union leader said.
“We are, therefore, withdrawing all our industrial action plans,” the source confirmed.
The new wage pact followed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) reached in the presence of Indian Ports and Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in August.
“This agreement marks a significant step forward in ensuring fair and equitable treatment for our port workers, who are the backbone of the Indian maritime sector,” the minister earlier noted.
Sonowal went on to say: “The timely resolution of these issues reflects the ministry’s commitment to foster a harmonious and productive working environment across all Indian ports.”
India has 12 major ports with government controls. From April to November, the first eight months of fiscal year 2024-25, these ports together handled 549.5 million tonnes of cargo, up 2.5% year-over-year, with container volumes accounting for 8.8 million TEUs, up 8%, according to new data obtained by Container News.
Jenny Daniel
Global Correspondent
