Workers end strike at ICTSI Poland unit

Port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) said the strike that hit its Poland facility was finally over.

“Normal operations at the terminal [Baltic Container Terminal] have resumed effective 18:30 hours of April 1, 2008 [Gdynia time],” it said in its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

The company did not disclose the losses that the facility had incurred as a result of the over the past two-week strike.

About 500 dock workers, who have been on a rotational strike since March 20, demanded an increase of PLN400 (US$177) a month each, while management offers only half of the amount.

In a statement it issued last week, ICTSI said the industrial dispute has not yet resulted in massive losses. “There is not much container volume affected yet because of the holiday from Maundy Thursday until Easter Monday in Poland.”

ICTSI said its Poland facility contributed 245,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) to the company’s total container volume of 3 million TEU in 2007. Most of ICTSI’s volume comes from its flagship facility at the Manila International Container Terminal.

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Port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) said the strike that hit its Poland facility was finally over.

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