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Privatisation plans prompt strike in Peruvian ports
28 July 2008
More than 12,000 transport workers and activists walked out on strike in two Peruvian ports recently in protest over the government’s plans to privatise the port of Callao.
Workers, represented by the ITF-affiliated Federación Nacional de Trabajadores de la Empresa Nacional de Puertos based in the ports of Lima and Callao, took strike action on 9 July. In Callao alone, only 120 of the 2,700 containers that arrive daily were handled.
Joined by representatives from the General Confederation of Workers of Peru and social organisations, the workers were protesting against an agreement reached by the government’s executive branch that will see the port of Callao, which has been managed by a state-owned company for 30 years, taken over by a private Chilean operator. The unions believe this will undermine trade union rights.
Seventy-five per cent of port activities in Peru have been taken over by the private sector.
Antonio Fritz commented: “The government is trying to sell all the assets of the state-owned port, in an attempt to privatise all the services. The only fully privatised port, Matarani, a single holding that controls all the operations, has shown the devastating impact of the privatisation process, including the implementation of anti-union practices. This latest move will negatively impact of the users of the port, not to mention prevent workers from being unionised. Matarani is strategic not only for the Peruvian economy but is also one the ports used by landlocked Bolivia.”
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