The strike crisis at the Port of Rotterdam has escalated. Approximately 700 freight workers responsible for lashing operations on ships and dock containers have initiated a strike. The originally planned 48-hour work stoppage has been extended indefinitely, leading to a complete halt of container handling operations at the port.
Affected by this, container ships are unable to load or unload cargo. Over 60 vessels are anchored and waiting at sea, about 20 of which are container ships awaiting lashing operations. Although the Rotterdam court ordered that workers must return to work after 7:00 AM on Monday to handle the backlog of goods, the actual situation remains unknown.
This strike has had an “extremely destructive” impact on the Port of Rotterdam. Simultaneously, pilots at the Port of Antwerp in Belgium are also on strike, exacerbating uncertainty in the regional supply chain. If the situation worsens, the European logistics network could face the risk of paralysis.
Recently, the Port of Rotterdam has been caught in a strike crisis, and the situation continues to escalate. Approximately 700 freight workers (lashing workers) responsible for securing and releasing containers on ships and docks initiated a strike. The originally planned 48-hour work stoppage period has been extended indefinitely. Since the strike began on Wednesday afternoon, container handling operations at the Port of Rotterdam have completely stalled. Typically, three to four container ships arrive daily; currently, over 60 vessels are anchored and waiting at sea, about 20 of which are container ships awaiting lashing operations.
This strike is “extremely destructive” to the Port of Rotterdam. If the situation further deteriorates, the European logistics network could face the risk of paralysis. At the same time, pilots at the Port of Antwerp in Belgium have also gone on strike due to a pension dispute, increasing pressure on the regional supply chain. Queues have formed at ports such as Antwerp, Zeebrugge, and Ghent. The strike in Rotterdam has also led to a significant reduction in container transport volume, with large quantities of containers piling up at inland terminals, unable to be moved inland, and transshipment has become more difficult.
The latest developments show that the Rotterdam court has partially suspended the lashing workers’ strike. The judge ordered the strike to continue until 7:00 AM on Monday, after which the lashing workers must return to work to handle the backlog of goods at the port. However, if negotiations do not progress smoothly and fail to reach a solution, they can strike again at 7:00 AM on Friday, October 17th. In the meantime, both sides must work towards a compromise. The FNV union and the lashing companies ILS and Matrans met again on Sunday in an attempt to reach a collective labor agreement; if the negotiating parties still have not reached an agreement by Friday, a second hearing or a court ruling may take place later that day.
The main reason for the strike is a disagreement over wages. The FNV union initially demanded a 7% pay increase on top of automatic inflation compensation, later slightly reducing it to 6.5%. The employers, ILS and Matrans, consider the increase too high; they had previously proposed annual wage increases of 4% and 6% respectively and had described this work stoppage as “unjustified” and “extremely destructive”.
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