Labour strife besets container movement in France and India

CONTAINER operations at the French Port of Le Havre have been brought to a standstill by a 24-hour dockers strike at the nation's biggest box port.

In a separate development, the Indian shipping minister confirmed that a meeting took place earlier this week in an effort to resolve the wage revision dispute threatening to trigger strikes at 12 of the biggest ports.

The French strike has banded together all of the port's 1,800 freight workers in protest reforms to improve efficiency, but stand to reduce employments, reports the UK's Handy Shipping Guide.

It cited a spokesperson for the Port of Le Havre as saying that further strikes are likely to follow in this long-running dispute.

In India, the report said that the All India Port and Dock Workers Federation is threatening an indefinite work stoppage until the their dispute is resolved.

It added that more than "60,000 staff could be affected by the strike which is exacerbated by the numerous other unions who represent workers in the industry."

(Source: www.schednet.com)