Port strikes: movements in France but not in the United States
While several waves of strike are announced in the French ports, promising a stormy beginning of year, there should be no resumption of the movement in the American ports, union (ILA) and employers (USMX) having finally found a common ground.
The month of January will be punctuated by interruptions of activity in the French ports. Stopped several times in recent months for lack of political interlocutors, the trade unions of ports and docks have announced the resumption of the movement, withinterruptions in work4 hours on the hourly time range from 10am to 4pm, every two days or almost every day,7, 9, 13, 15, 17, 21, 23, 27, 29 and 31 January 2025. Exceptional overtime and shifts will also not be insured. The movement could continue in February, the strike originally scheduled for December 9 and 10, 2024 (cf.Strike in French ports on 9 and 10 December 2024) having been postponed to3 and 4 February 2025. The reasons for these disconnections are the same as those of the strikes and other dead port operations that have shaken the area since November 2023. While the main cause remains pension reform, workers in ports and docks also expect massive investment in port infrastructure from the authorities. To date, it is difficult to know whether the strike days of January will be followed with the same enthusiasm in all French ports but it is wiser to organize the transport of your goods taking into account these possible disturbances.
Outside the Atlantic, the scenario is totally contrary.The strike which threatened to resume in mid-January in the American ports of the East Coast and the Gulf of the United States is suspended(cf.US shipping: overloads on the horizon!). An agreement on a new six-year framework contract was reached in extremis on Wednesday 8 January between the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX). This agreed principle « win-win » by the union allows to continue the activities until the signing of the final agreement on 15 January next. History does not say whether the message of support for the ILA from the future President of the United States, Donald Trump, will have weighed in the balance when both sides have settled at the negotiating table. Anyway, this remains excellent news for the flow of your goods to the United States to import that thus avoids paralysis of American ports, disorganization, delays, overloads of shipowners and many more joys!
ACTE International Network