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Indian transport workers win pay settlement
11 September 2008
An Indian ITF affiliate has won a ground-breaking pay settlement for port workers following a successful organising campaign.
Workers at Hind Terminals, the largest container freight station serving the Jawaharlal Nehru Port and the Maersk GTI terminal, both in Nhava Sheva, near Mumbai, will benefit from the settlement. Negotiated by the Transport and Dock Workers’ Union (TDWU), the deal was won in the wake of the union’s 18-month organising campaign.
SR Kulkarni, President of the union and of the All India Port and Dock Workers’ Federation, as well as Chair of the ITF Asia-Pacific Dockers’ Section Committee, stated that the agreement was the first of its kind in the port area. It included, he said, a double annual increment, an additional yearly bonus incentive, RS200,000 (US$4,500) in insurance cover and a variable inflationary allowance.
Another significant achievement was TDWU’s successful recruitment of 48 container lift operators working for container handling company, Kalmar, based at the Maersk container freight station.
Speaking on 1 September at a victory rally to celebrate the union’s success, Mahendra Sharma, ITF Deputy Asia-Pacific Regional Secretary, lauded the efforts of the union. “This victory is a major milestone for the organising globally campaign in India and South Asia,” he said.
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