APM Terminals faces possible strike in Callao, Peru

Union says it will strike APMT’s North Pier terminal, which handles 35 percent of Peruvian cargo, starting Wednesday.    SUTRAMPORPC, a dockworker union in Callao, Peru, has voted in favor of a strike against APM Terminals’s North Pier terminal beginning tomorrow, Wednesday May 13.
   The union said it is taking action in response to “intransigence of the company to improve their collective working conditions.”
   Last year, APM Callao accounted for 35 percent of all Peruvian cargo operations, 518,729 containers and a total of 14.9 million tons of cargo, according to SUTRAMPORPC.
   Secretary of SUTRAMPORPC, Geraldo Honores, complained APMT “has launched a campaign against the unionized dockworkers, they are suspending many of them for ridiculous issues reasons that until recently were not sanctionable – workers feel that this persecution implemented by APM Terminals occurs because we are claiming our rights.”
   The union said when it organized a two day strike on April 14, “instead of negotiating, the terminal’s administrative staff seems to have been forced to carry out cargo operations. Some dockers have reported that secretaries discharged cars, a situation that is both illegal but also attempts against the security of the terminal, which APM says is important.
   “No accidents nor casualties were reported, but is important to think on who would be responsible in case an accident may have happened. Using non-trained and non-certified workers to do dockers’ jobs is not only a violation of the national labor legislation as well as freedom of association principles, but also shows total lack of responsibility. Also we don’t believe insurance companies were notified of this,” the union added.
   The president of the dockers section of the International Transport Workers Federation, Paddy Crumlin, said the Peru union “have our unanimous support” and urged APMT to “address those inequalities and step back from confrontation.”
   APMT spokesman Tom Boyd said no ships are being diverted because of the threatened strike.
   “The specific issue in Callao is we are implementing an electronic roster system at the port which allows us to select the Port Labor Union people who work at the port. And just to be clear this is not a question of selecting union vs. non-union workers – this is purely a safer, better process to ensure all Port Labor Union workers have equal access to work at our port. We only employ union employees to work our vessels,” Boyd explained.
   “This electronic roster system is perfectly allowed in the Peru Port Workers law. It replaces an outdated, inefficient, manual system,” he said. “The benefits are this electronic system gives equal, fair access to all Port Union Workers and that is in their best interests and the users of the port. We are respecting all Labor laws in Peru.
   “The Peru Minister of Labor has not even approved the Union strike, which requires authorization under Peru law,” Boyd added. “We are confident the situation will be resolved through conversation with our Labor partners.”