After Shipping Ministry assures wage revision, port workers defer strike

The MoU said that the workers would receive a fitment benefit of 8.5 per cent on the aggregate amount of basic pay as of 31 December 2021, plus 30 per cent of Variable Dearness Allowance (VDA) as of 1 January 2022. The periodicity of the settlement shall be five years, from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2026, MoU stated.

“The suggestion of management that the periodicity of the next wage revision from 1 January 2027 should coincide with the periodicity of officers’ pay revision, with a view to avoid future anomalies, has been duly considered. The federations agreed that both management and federations will consider this at the time of the next wage revision, effective from 1 January 2027, to bring parity in the periodicity of settlement for officers and employees,” the MoU stated. Notably, the shipping ministry had formed a bipartite wage negotiation committee in March 2021, and the workers submitted their demands six months later, ahead of the expiration of the previous agreement in December 2021. Although the wage negotiation committee met seven times, it failed to meet the port workers’ demands.

The workers’ unions are affiliated with five federations: All India Port and Dock Workers’ Federation, All India Port and Dock Workers Federation (Workers), Water Transport Workers Federation of India, Indian National Port and Dock Workers Federation, and Port, Dock and Waterfront Workers Federation of India.

The annual cargo handling capacity of major Indian ports such as Chennai, Cochin, and Mumbai is about 1.62 billion metric tonnes, according to official figures. India exported goods worth $437 billion, with imports estimated at $677 billion in FY24.

While the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways led the negotiations, exporters had reached out to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry seeking help in resolving the issue. Exporters were concerned about the potential loss of Christmas orders from the West, which typically begins around this time. Additionally, they were worried about disruptions amid already strained maritime routes due to the Red Sea crisis.