Major port operators have invited representatives from the ports and dock workers' unions for a discussion in New Delhi on Tuesday next week, aiming to avert an indefinite nationwide strike called by employee federations starting August 28, according to a source on Friday. The decision to strike was made by worker unions during a national coordination committee meeting held in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, on August 8, in response to the prolonged delay in the settlement of wage revisions and benefits, which have been pending for over two years.

Following this decision, strike notices were served to the administrators of the respective ports on August 12. Meanwhile, Mumbai Port Authority Chairman, Rajeev Jalota, who also chairs the Bipartite Wage Negotiations Committee, informed PTI that a meeting of the Committee has been scheduled in the national capital on August 28 to discuss the workers' joint charter of demands.

"We have already initiated discussions with the workers' representatives and have invited them for further talks on August 27 in New Delhi to address their demands. We are hopeful of reaching an amicable solution," the source stated.

The worker unions involved are affiliated with five federations: the All India Port and Dock Workers' Federation, All India Port and Dock Workers Federation (workers), Water Transport Workers Federation of India, Indian National Port and Dock Workers Federation, and Port, Dock and Waterfront Workers Federation of India.

According to sources from the India Port and Dock Workers Federation (workers), the major port operators and federations were expected to sign a five-year wage revision agreement before the previous wage pact expired on December 31, 2021. There are 12 major ports in the country, employing approximately 20,000 permanent workers.

The Shipping Ministry established a Bipartite Wage Negotiations Committee in March 2021, comprising representatives from port management and the federations. In September 2021, the five federations submitted a joint charter of demands for the revision of wages, retirement benefits, and other conditions of service for Group C&D port and dock workers, effective from January 1, 2022. Additionally, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) submitted a separate charter of demand for wage revision to the Committee. However, the Bipartite Wage Negotiations Committee has only met seven times in over two years, the source added.