Nearly 20,000 workers across major Indian ports have called off their planned indefinite strike, which was set to begin today, after reaching a new five-year agreement.
The deal, signed late Tuesday, averts further disruptions to the already-strained global supply chain, which is grappling with higher freight costs and congestion at major Asian and European ports.
The agreement includes an 8.5% pay increase over five years, according to a document signed by union leaders and reviewed by Reuters. This is slightly lower than the workers’ initial demand of a 10.6% raise.
The shipping ministry had formed a bipartite wage negotiation committee in March 2021, and the workers submitted their demands six months later, ahead of the previous settlement’s expiration in December 2021.
After prolonged discussions, the committee and India’s apex port body reached an agreement with the workers’ unions in New Delhi, addressing pay revisions and pension benefits. The union leaders signed a document stating that the six federations agreed to defer the proposed strike.
The workers had previously agreed to strike during a meeting in Thoothukudi, a port city in Tamil Nadu.
The affected ports, including Chennai, Cochin, and Mumbai, have a combined cargo handling capacity of 1.62 billion metric tons.
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