Pay and conditions deal for Jordanian dockers

7 November 2007

Dockers in a major Jordanian port have reached an agreement with a container terminal operator that will substantially improve their pay and conditions.

Members of the General Union of Port Workers and APM Terminals (APMT), which operates the Aqaba port terminal, reached the agreement after the union presented the company with a two-week deadline to respond to their demands or face strike action on 21 October.

Management’s initially half-hearted response was met with a confirmation from the union of members’ demands on pay and conditions. The company also attempted – in vain - to press workers not to agree to industrial action; instead workers gave the union their full backing.

As a result, APMT had no option but to begin negotiations with the union – several meetings took place in the run-up to the deadline, culminating in the breakthrough deal, which was reached on 19 October in the presence of a representative from the Labour Ministry.

The agreement terms offer: a basic pay increase of 25 Jordanian dinars ($US35) for all workers; savings and social welfare funds for workers; a housing allowance and an end of service payment equivalent to a minimum of six months’ salary.

The union committee in the port of Aqaba was established after the union leader Mohammad Khraisat attended an ITF ports of convenience seminar in Amman earlier this year.

Bilal Malkawi ITF Arab World Offices commented: “This has been a great development in this region and the agreement is a step forward. It comes after the ITF targeted APMT globally and demonstrates the importance of the federation’s organising globally campaign.”

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