APMT Rotterdam is suffering strike action over a stalemate with unions on compensation for the future higher state retirement age, Port Strategy has learnt.
According to APM Terminals, industrial action started on Monday with a six hour stoppage of operations and continued yesterday with 10 minutes stoppages by workers every hour. Yesterday afternoon there has been another 1.5 hour strike.
APMT Rotterdam is suffering strike action over a stalemate with unions on compensation for the future higher state retirement age, Port Strategy has learnt.
According to APM Terminals, industrial action started on Monday with a six hour stoppage of operations and continued yesterday with 10 minutes stoppages by workers every hour. Yesterday afternoon there has been another 1.5 hour strike.
Tuesday night, one of the terminal’s biggest customers Maersk Line announced that it is temporarily diverting operations through Antwerp for the rest of this week and probably for next week too.
Cors Radings, spokesman at APMT Rotterdam, told PS: “This is of great concern to us. The action has not only cost us delays in handling containers this week, but it is now affecting our reputation and reliability as a terminal.”
The stalemate has been reached because the unions want all employers to plug the gap between the new OAP age of 67 (coming into effect from 2025), and the present retirement age of 63 or 65.
APMT said today that they are open to discussion and negotiation with the unions, but that it wants to discuss the issue away from the existing collective labour agreement – which the union is so far refusing to do.
Competition is already stiff for business in Rotterdam and APMT can ill afford any loss of business in the current climate.
Discussion about this post