Fos-Lavera terminal workers end strike

Workers at France's Mediterranean oil port Fos-Lavera, the world's third largest oil terminal, on Friday ended a strike that had lasted 33 days, the port authority reported.

Workers at the oil terminals have been striking to protest against a range of issues, including the government's pension reforms and changes to the way the port is run, reported Dow Jones Newswires.

As well as serving the several refineries around Fos-Lavera, the port serves the South European Pipeline, which supplies the refineries and a petrochemical plant located along the inland axis, from Fos to Karlsruhe, Germany.

The pipeline transports about 23 million metric tons a year, or more than 30 percent of the crude oil transport in Europe, according to its website.

The strike at the port and other strikes at the country's refineries led to fuel shortages in France over the past couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, anti-government industrial action and protests continued to diminish after President Nicolas Sarkozy's contentious pension reform was voted into law.

"We have the satisfaction of having accomplished our duty" on pension reform, Dominique Paille, a spokesman for Sarkozy's conservative UMP party told French television.

The pension reform cleared parliamentary hurdles on Wednesday but will be delayed a week or two as the opposition Socialist party, as expected, appeals to the country's constitutional court which for its part is expected to dismiss the appeal.

Source: Cargonews Asia