Kochi port strike called off

A strike by around 10,000 private workers engaged in activities related to Kochi Port ended on Wednesday, about 40 hours after a combine of trade unions called for a 72-hour strike, reported The Hindu.

Leaders of Trade Union Coordination Committee, which called for the strike, said they were bowing to an appeal from Labour Minister P.K. Gurudasan, who had asked the workers to call off the strike and promised to look into all the issues raised by them.

General Convenor Charles George said that the Labour Minister's promise was a good start and that the workers were taking the appeal by the minister in the right spirit.

Cargo movement to and from Kochi port was halted after the strike started Monday midnight by workers engaged in cargo loading and unloading, and stuffing and de-stuffing.

The workers are demanding, among other things, continued operation of Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal after the present container operations are shifted to the new International Container Transhipment Terminal site on Vallarpadam Island.

The workers had also expressed their fear that their jobs will be affected once the container operations are shifted to Vallarpadam.
(Source:www.cargonewsasia.com)