Around 4,000 workers manning container lorries transporting cargo to and from the International Container Transshipment Terminal in Kochi ended their strike on Monday after conciliatory talks ended on a positive note.
A meeting convened by District Collector P.I. Sheikh Pareed assured the striking workers and lorry drivers that their demand for revised wages would be addressed by the end of December. The striking workers had also made a demand for better amenities outside the container transshipment terminal premises for drivers and crew of the container carriers. The strike began on Sunday midnight after the workers, manning around 2,000 container lorries, failed to clinch a deal on revised wages. The wage revision issue came after the validity of the current long-term wages and working conditions agreement expired in the first week of December.
A spokesman for the Trade Union Coordination Committee, representing container lorry workers belonging to all trade unions, told The Hindu that negotiations on the issue were held in the presence of the District Collector and owners of the container carriers.
