UNIONISED longshore workers in Spain and the companies that employ them have settled a dispute over a recently passed law by the country's parliament. The amicably reached agreement preserves 6,200 union dockworker jobs.
Spanish labour unions and employers had been battling over reform measures that the parliament approved on May 18 regarding the hiring of longshore workers.
Under May's parliamentary action, rules that govern Spain's ports were amended so that Spanish port loading services were deregulated and therefore open to market competition, with companies being allowed to freely hire non-union labour, reported American Shipper.
Before the change, foreign and domestic companies that were loading and unloading ships in Spain's harbours could only hire unionised longshore labour.
In response to Parliament's action, on June 5 some 6,200 registered dockworkers began staging work stoppages for 48-hour periods to protest the decision, as well as a breakdown in talks with employers regarding safeguarding those thousands of at-risk jobs.
According to the government, the strikes led to losses of EUR12 million (US$13.7 million) per day, as shipping companies were forced to re-route cargo to other countries.
Under management and labour's new agreement, ANESCO, the association that represents employers, has pledged not to alter working conditions for longshore workers during a three-year window, after which the new work scheme that the Spanish legislature approved goes fully into effect.
In return, the dockworkers, who are represented by the UGT Estiba longshore union, have agreed to a 10 per cent cut in wages and early retirement for its older members, according to the union.