Indian port strike is called off

India’s largest container ports have been saved at the finish line. The country’s dockworkers have called off the strike that was scheduled to begin on August 28. 

The All India Port and Dock Workers’ Federation, part of the ITF international union, and the employers have reached an agreement on a new wage deal, news agency Reuters reports. 

Around 20,000 workers at major Indian ports have been threatening to walk off the job for weeks after the unions and employers have been negotiating a new collective agreement since late 2021, when the previous deal expired. 

But after 31 months of negotiations, a solution has now been found for wage revisions and pension benefits.

The workers’ unions agreed to a wage increase of 8.5% over a period of five years, according to Reuters. They have been working to secure a wage increase of around 10.6%. 

The fact that the parties have finally reached an agreement is likely to make several container shipping and logistics companies breathe a sigh of relief. 

A strike in the Indian ports would have exacerbated the problems of already strained supply chains challenged by higher freight costs and congestion in major Asian and European ports.

Analyst Lars Jensen of Vespucci Maritime wrote two weeks ago on LinkedIn that this would ”ripple into new increases in spot rates across the major trades.”

Ports like Chennai, Cochin and Mumbai handle 1.62 billion tons of teu annually and India is among the largest exporters worldwide.

(English edit by Katrine Gøthler)