zoomImage Courtesy: Illustration; Offshore and Home Trade Seamen's Welfare Trust

The representatives of the Spanish dockworkers union Coordinadora and their employers’ association Anesco could not reach a deal at today’s meeting which was aimed at fixing the ongoing conflict that has been heating up for almost a month.

That said, the dockworkers are most likely to stage their 48-hour strike scheduled for tomorrow, starting at 0800 hrs. In addition, dockworkers said that they would stop work at odd hours on June 19th, 21st, 23rd, resulting in only 50% of workable time.

Anesco called on the unions to call off the strikes as a sign of good will. Specifically, during the meeting held this morning a new framework agreement for the regulation of labor relations in the stevedoring sector was proposed by the unions.

The employer’s association expressed its intention to analyze in detail the new proposal presented today, adding that it plans to hold an extraordinary meeting of stevedoring companies, next Friday, June 16 during which it would analyze the proposal and the consequences of the ongoing situation on the sector.

This was the first meeting between the duo since they broke off their talks on June 1.

The workers are demanding that companies keep all of their employees and maintain the same working-conditions after the implementation of the port-reform, which is said to be aimed at liberalization of the sector in line with the EU conditions.

Spanish Ministry of Public Works informed that the first week of strikes, launched on June 5, cost the country over EUR 36 million, about 12 million for each day.

Out of EUR 12 million, EUR 2.5 million corresponded to land transport, EUR 5 million to stevedores and the rest was divided between tugs, pilots, licensees of commercial services and logistics operators.

Separately, China’s COSCO Shipping Ports Limited said on Monday that it had inked a deal to purchase a 51 percent stake in the Spanish container terminal operator Noatum Port Holdings.

This is the first port operator from the country to be bought following the implementation of the port reform.

The USD 228 million worth deal includes the company’s container terminals in Valencia and Bilbao, as well as the dry ports of Madrid (Conterail) and Zaragoza (Noatum Rail Terminal Zaragoza).

Noatum Port Holdings informed that the completion of the transaction is subject to shareholder approval, certain conditions precedent and relevant regulatory approvals being achieved.

World Maritime News Staff