Industrial action slows operations at Fos-Lavera port in France

27 January 2011 18:20  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--Unions representing port workers at the Fos-Lavera oil and chemicals terminal in southern France have called for a strike on 28-29 January but shipping agencies expect minor disruptions to port operations rather than a complete halt, an agent at Humann & Taconet shipping agency said Thursday.

The port workers object to the French government’s proposed privatisation scheme at Fos-Lavera.

A similar call for strike action last week resulted in workers stopping work for the last two hours of each eight-hour shift over several days. Vessels were disconnected from loading and discharging equipment during the stoppages and reconnected at the beginning of the next shift, the agent said.

A meeting between port workers and managers on Thursday was inconclusive. The extent of disruption was being determined “from shift to shift”, the agent added.

Strikes in September and October last year shut down operations at Fos-Lavera for more than a month, when workers were objecting to pension reforms.

Other ports, oil refineries and chemical plants in France also shut down, either because their supply chains were interrupted or because their workers had joined national strikes against pension reform.

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By: James Mills
+44 208 652 3214

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