Talks to resume between US dockworkers and employer group next week
The International Longshoremen's Association and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) are set to resume contract talks on January 7, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Talks between the ILA, which represents more than 45,000 dockworkers across the US East and Gulf coast ports, and the employer group are at an impasse over issues related to automation at port terminals.
Both parties signed a tentative deal in October, which gave workers a 62 per cent wage hike over six years, to end a three-day strike but left issues related to automation unresolved.
Another coast-wide strike at US East and Gulf coast ports looms large if an agreement is not reached before January 15, which will not only halt billions in trade but also raise inflationary pressures and threaten existing supply chains.
USMX had earlier said the technology at issue does not harm longshore employment, and added such modernisation was necessary to keep US ports competitive.
(Reporting by Abhinav Parmar and Angela Christy in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Chopra and Krishna Chandra Eluri)