TRUCKERS' STRIKE * China - Clashes erupt in Shanghai as truck drivers strike near port

China said in early April it would increase retail gasoline and diesel prices by 5-5.5 percent to record highs

(Photo by Carlos Barria/REUTERS: Truck drivers stand at an area used to park their container trucks near a port in Shanghai, April 21, 2011)

Shanghai,SH,China -Reuters, by Royston Chan and Carlos Barria -Apr 21, 2011:  --  A two-day strike over rising fuel prices turned violent in Shanghai on Thursday as thousands of truck drivers clashed with police, drivers said, in the latest example of simmering discontent over inflation...

(Photo by Stringer/REUTERS: Policemen take away a truck driver and his wife holding their child, near a port in Shanghai, April 21, 2011)

About 2,000 truck drivers battled baton-wielding police at an intersection near Waigaoqiao port, Shanghai's biggest, two drivers who were at the protest told Reuters...

(Photo by Carlos Barria/REUTERS: People walk along an unfinished road being used by truck drivers to park their container trucks near a port in Shanghai, April 21, 2011)

The drivers, who blocked roads with their trucks, had stopped work on Wednesday demanding the government do something about rising fuel costs, workers said... China's state media has been silent on the protest, underscoring the sensitivity of unrest for the ruling Communist Party, which normally stamps out protests fearing a threat to stability... Last May, a burst of labour disputes disrupted production for many foreign automakers including Toyota and Honda, which laid bare the rising demands of China's 150 million migrant workers and raised questions about the region's future as a low-cost manufacturing base...

* Striking Shanghai truckers return to work

(Photo: Trucks loaded with containers could be seen flowing out of the Waigaoqiao cargo terminal on Monday)

Shanghai,SH,China -AFP -26 April 2011: -- Shanghai truckers said Monday they have halted a strike over high fuel costs after authorities met their demands amid fears of wider inflation-related unrest...  The Shanghai Municipal Transport and Port Authority published a set of proposals late Friday in response to the strikers' demands, abolishing or reducing various fees incurred by drivers. Authorities would cancel some container yard fees and reduce select toll charges by about 10 percent...  Wang said drivers resumed work because they were satisfied with the government's offer...  China's government is on edge over spiralling prices, particularly after inflation became a factor in the popular uprisings that have rocked the Arab world...  The government has raised petrol and diesel prices three times since December...

STRIKES WORLDWIDE * Colombia - Truckers Strike in Bogota

Protests over ending fixed freight price system snarl traffic in capital

(Video from YouTube, by ipiposhockcol -17 Oct 2008: Colombia's road accident. See driver's recklessness and lack of solidarity from watchers therein)

Bogota,Colombia -The Journal of Commerce Online, by Dana L. Brundage -Feb 15, 2011: --  Colombian truck drivers, on strike for more than two weeks, are blocking major roadways in the capital city of Bogota, causing a complete standstill during rush hour and forcing residents to walk to work... The 120,000-member Truckers Association is protesting the government's decision to put an end to minimum trucking rates and opening freight prices up to market forces. The strike is severely affecting the country's coffee export industry... According to reports, Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos said the fixed freight price system was "obsolete," noting that the country would be able to compete on a higher level regarding exports without the system in place... Colombia is currently in negotiations with China on a transcontinental rail operation through the South American nation. The "dry canal" would help China to move goods more easily through the region while helping Colombia to compete with the Panama Canal...

* Colombia: Truckers Drop Roadblocks. Strike against deregulation efforts will continue in Bogota

Bogota,Colombia -The Journal of Commerce Online -Feb 17, 2011:   ... Truckers in Colombia will stop blocking roads in Bogota but will maintain their strike against a government plan to deregulate freight rates... Colombia's government announced the end of the roadblocks, which had disrupted the capital for several days... The government had threatened to break up the roadblocks with riot police, raising the heat on protests against Colombia's plan to eliminate minimum freight rates... The strike in South America follows similar disruptions last year in Greece, where truckers blocked roads around Athens over plans to deregulate trucking rates there...


* France - Dockworkers, Employers Open Talks

Le Havre,France -The Journal of Commerce Online, by Bruce Barnard -Feb 15, 2011: -- CGT warns strikes to resume if three-day meeting fails to make progress... French dockworkers and port employers Feb. 15 began negotiations aimed at resolving a dispute over pensions that has provoked rolling nationwide strikes since the beginning of the year... The talks, between the CGT, the largest dockworker union, private port companies and the leading port authorities, are scheduled to last for three days... The CGT, which suspended its six-week long strike campaign last week, has warned it will stage further stoppages from Friday, Feb. 18, if the negotiations do not make progress... The union wants port employers to honor an agreement in principle they signed last October which would allow four years early retirement for up to 6,000 dockworkers with arduous jobs...  (Photo from hiphopandpolitics: Boots france docks)

STRIKES WORLWIDE * India - Cochin Strike Ends

Court calls for three-month period to address labor issues

(Photo from im.rediff: The Port of Cochin is located on the south west coast of India)

Cochin Port,India -The Journal of Commerce Online, by Thomas L. Gallagher -Feb 10, 2011:  --  Dockworkers called off their strike at India's Port of Cochin Feb. 9 after the Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the state and the port to retain operations at the Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal for three months...  The High Court said they will look into the issues raised by the unions and direct the central and state governments to form a committee to study the issues and find a solution as early as possible...  The RGCT will continue to handle coastal operations for three months, and DP World is free to start export/import cargo operations in Vallarpadam as scheduled or continue the entire operation in RGCT...  Workers were demanding job protection as the port authority planned to shift all container operations to a new DP World-developed terminal in nearby Vallarpadam...


* France - Dockworkers Suspend Strikes

(Photo: Le Havre Port,France)

Marseille,France -The Journal of Commerce Online, by Bruce Barnard -Feb 10, 2011:   ... French dockworkers Feb. 10 suspended a six-week-long campaign of strikes after port employers agreed to resume negotiations on union demands for early retirement... The CGT, the largest dockworker union, said it will hold three days of talks with employers starting Tuesday, Feb. 15... The union warned it would consider resuming strikes on Feb. 18 if the negotiations do not make progress... The CGT began the latest industrial action with a nationwide strike on Jan. 12 followed by four successive four-day stoppages over the past month that have cut cargo throughput by an estimated 40 percent... The government, which is the sole shareholder in the nation's seven largest ports, including Marseille and Le Havre, insists dockworkers can only retire two years before the national pension age which was recently raised to 62 from 60...

* Australia - Strike suspended as MUA and Patrick set to return to negotiating table

(Pictured: Webb Dock, which ought to be redeveloped by 2014 says SAL)

Melbourne,Australia -Transport and Logistics News -10 Feb 2011: -- After previously flatly rejecting safety concerns raised by the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), the union says Patrick Stevedores has agreed to return to the negotiating table...  MUA members at Webb Dock voted to return to work after management committed to put an offer in writing to the union before the end of this week...  MUA national secretary Paddy Crumlin said Patrick's backflip followed Fair Work Australia's finding that the union has been genuinely trying to reach agreement... 

STRIKE * France - Dockers to Stage Third Weekend

Work stoppage scheduled to begin Friday at Marseille and Le Harve

Marseille,France -The Journal of Commerce Online, by Bruce Barnard -Jan 26, 2011: -- French dockers and port workers will stage a four-day nationwide strike on Friday, Jan. 28, in a major escalation of a long-running row over pensions and working conditions...  The Communist-led CGT, the biggest docker union, today called for a third successive weekend stoppage as leading ports struggle to clear up a backlog of cargo built up during the previous strikes...  The strikes are expected to completely or partially close down France’s major ports, including Marseille and Le Havre, the nation’s biggest container hub...  The union said the strike, like previous stoppages, would not affect oil traffic and passenger ships, but would halt mainly container traffic and bulk shipment...

STRIKES * France - Nationwide French Dockworker Strikes Begin

Union claims solid support as strike blocks all ports

Le Havre,France -The Journal of Commerce Online, by Bruce Barnard -Jan 21, 2011: -- French dockworkers Jan. 21 began a four-day nationwide strike amid warnings of further stoppages as port employers resist union demands for improved working conditions and early retirement...  The Communist-led CGT, the largest dockworker union, claimed solid support for the strike at all ports, with shipping at a standstill from Marseille in the south to Le Havre, the nation’s main container port, in the north...  Dockworkers will strike Friday and Sunday, and other port workers, including container crane operators, will walk off the job on Saturday and Monday...  The government forced changes in working conditions at the seven publicly owned ports -- Marseille, Le Havre, Dunkirk, Bordeaux, Rouen, La Rochelle and Nantes-St. Nazaire -- in 2008 as part of an overall reform aimed at boosting productivity to the level of rival European ports that have captured a large slice of France’s container traffic...  The government also loosened the state’s control over the ports but remains the single shareholder...  (Photo: Aerial view Le Havre's Port)

STRIKES WORLDWIDE * France - Strike Closes Port Le Havre's Terminals

Dockworkers, port staff join national strike over retirement

LeHavre,France -The Journal of Commerce Online, by Peter T. Leach -Jan 12, 2011: -- All dockworkers and a large number of port staff in Le Havre joined a national strike Wednesday shutting down shipping terminals at France's largest container port... France’s FNPD-CGT union called the strike to press demands for early retirement for those who carry out hard physical work. The union said the current strike would last until at least Sunday... The strike did not affect cross-Channel ferry services or petroleum shipping, according, to a union source quoted by Agence France Presse... National strikes in September and October last year caused major disruption to shipments and oil terminals, particularly in the southern port of Marseille, where the Fos-Lavera oil terminal, the world's third largest, was blocked for more than a month and contributed to a shortage of fuels across France... The sporadic strikes were sparked by the port reform law passed by the government of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, which called for the privatization of marine terminals... (Photo from fxnonstop: french strike blocks 10 oil tankers at Le Havre)

* Canada - Canadian Rail Workers OK Strike Authority. Four union groups at two railroads vote to walk out if negotiations fail

Calgary, Alberta,CAN -The Journal of Commerce Online, by Courtney Tower -Jan 13, 2011: -- Members of four union groups at the two major Canadian railways voted to strike if negotiations fail by deadlines late this month and early next month... The strike votes involve some 5,500 workers, the Canadian Auto Workers union said Thursday... Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway spokespersons confirmed the strike votes, with strike deadlines of Jan. 25 for 4,300 workers at Canadian National and Feb. 8 for 2,100 at Canadian Pacific... Key issues, according to the union, are "concessionary demands" that CN has made, on working rules and conditions... Tom Murphy, spokesman for the CAW in Calgary, Alberta, at CP headquarters, said in an interview that wages and benefits are part of the issues but the most important concerns have to do with working conditions, proposed cutbacks in holidays and vacations, and with pensions...

STRIKES * UK - Fuel tanker driver strikes could be reignited

Plans for a strike by British fuel tanker drivers could be reignited

London,EN,UK -Road Transport, by Joanna Bourke -12 January 2011: -- Up to 3,000 Unite union members are expected to be balloted over proposed industrial action this week in order to improve pay and conditions...  If a national strike goes ahead, it would be led by Ron Webb, Unite's national officer for logistics, and Unite general secretary Len McCluskey... In 2008 Unite backed a four-day strike over pay for tanker drivers at Shell subcontractors Suckling Transport and Hoyer. Some 800 forecorts ran out of fuel as drivers finally settled for a 14% pay rise... (Photo from previous.presstv.ir: British fuel tanker drivers)

STRIKES WORLDWIDE * India - Cochin Truck Strike Crippling Cargo Movements

Fourth day of talks fails to bring agreement on wage increases

See bigest map

Cochin,India -The Journal of Commerce Online -Dec 3, 2010: -- A strike by container truck drivers in India’s Port of Cochin entered its fourth day on Friday, crippling cargo movements and threatening to disrupt operations at India Gateway Terminal, managed by DP World...  A shipping line agent at Cochin said the strike is set to continue into the weekend after talks between striking drivers and the truck owners group before local labor authorities Thursday failed to reach an agreement on wage increases...   Union representatives said truck owners turned down the drivers’ revised proposal for a 30 percent increase in wages...  As of Friday morning, nearly 4,000 import containers were reported to be stranded at the terminal yard and four ships were waiting for berth...  The Trade Union Coordination Committee representing all major labor groups in the southeastern port suspended trucking activity Monday morning, calling for wage increases and additional benefits... 

* Australia - Union targets TNT for next wages strike

Canberra,Australia -Supply Chain Review -December 6, 2010: -- After a nationwide strike against Australian Air Express, the Transport Workers Union has put TNT in its sights in a bid to secure higher wages and superannuation benefits... The union will ballot its members to gauge support for a strike against TNT to pressure it into agreeing to a 12 percent pay rise over three years and a six percent increase in superannuation payments...  The TWU wants TNT to ensure casual or labour hire workers are paid the same rate of pay as permanent staff... It is currently negotiating new agreements with the likes of Toll, Linfox and K&S Freighters... Following union-led strikes last month at its depots in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, AAE agreed to a 14 percent wage increase for workers over three years... AAE also agreed to open its books to the TWU so it can scrutinise chain of responsibility systems and safety training programs... TWU National Secretary, Tony Sheldon, labelled the agreement a benchmark for future negotiations with freight operators...

STRIKES * Portugal - ‘Greve geral’ gets underway in

Portugal’s CDS spreads hit record levels as investor jitters remain

Lisboa,Portugal -Reuters/MarketWatch, by Barbara Kollmeyer -Nov. 24, 2010: -- In echoes of labor unrest seen across Europe this year, Portugal’s public and private sectors united on Wednesday for what some are calling the country’s biggest-ever strike to protest government austerity measures... The “Greve Geral”, or general strike, called by the General Confederation of the Portuguese Workers (CGTP) and the General Union of Workers (UGT), was estimated to potentially cost the economy between 200 million and 400 million euros ($266 million to $533 million), according to reports... The biggest effect of the strike was on transportation and health-care facilities as workers stayed home, while some private companies also shut their doors. The website of the CGTP said 84% of metro lines were affected by strikes... (Photo from Reuters - Union members block the entrance of a Volkswagen car factory during a general strike in Palmela, on the outskirts of Lisboa. November 24, 2010)