San Francisco: Dockworkers in the Peruvian port of Callao went on indefinite strike on Wednesday to protest against alleged unfair treatment of union workers by management.
Port managers APM Terminals (APMT) say the real reason is that the union does not like changes to work practices, specifically a new electronic rostering system for labour at the dock. APMT deny union accusations that the system will be used to weed out union workers, saying the new system is transparent, efficient and fairer to all workers.
Callao, west of the capital Lima, is Peru’s busiest seaport.
Action was called by the Peruvian SUTRAMPORC union, which said in a statement that APMT “has launched a campaign against the unionised workers” and is “suspending many of them for ridiculous reasons”. The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) voiced support for the strikers fro its meetings in Australia.
As of late on Wednesday cargo operations had not been adversely affected at Callao, management said.
The latest work stoppage follows on from an organised 48-hour industrial action in April.
