DOCKERS at Brazil's Port of Santos, South America's
biggest maritime gateway, were threatening a 24-hour strike to protest
privatisation reforms that were passed by Congress in May, Reuters reports.
Already picketing port entrance near Sao Paulo, Brazil's
biggest city, they have caused a three kilometre-long queue on the highway to
the port, said private road operator Ecovias.
The National Stevedores Association in Brasilia said
workers at other ports had decided against a July 10 strike and would instead
join a variety of industries in Brazil planning a general strike on July 11,
but the Santos dockers union plans to go ahead.
"We had a meeting, nothing was accomplished; we are
going to have a 24-hour stoppage," said Santos dockers union spokesman
Cesar Rodrigues Alves.
Dockers oppose the plan to privatise terminals as means a
loss of jobs and benefits as private operators would no longer be forced to
hire men through a central agency.
The union says Embraport, a new US$1.2 billion container
terminal on the left margin of Santos owned by local infrastructure group
Odebrecht Transport, the United Arab Emirates' DP World and trading company
Coimex, is not hiring agency workers.
This action comes after a three-day truckers protest and
nationwide demonstrations that attracted one million people at their peak.
Source : HKSG.
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