Officials expect breakthrough in Aqaba terminal strike within 48 hours

AMMAN –– Officials were hopeful on Tuesday that employees of the Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT) may end their strike in the next 48 hours. 

Ihab Rawashdeh, head of ACT’s media and public relations department, told The Jordan Times over the phone that government officials have held intensive negotiations with the committee representing the General Union of Port Workers in a bid to reach an agreement to end the strike, which entered its third day on Tuesday.

Merchants have expressed concern over the strike as it comes during Ramadan and less than two weeks before Eid Al Fitr, when the Kingdom’s imports rise sharply to meet the surging demand for food and clothes.

Rawashdeh said more than 900 employees work at ACT. 

The employees want management to increase their salaries, pay them 15 salaries a year and include their parents in their medical insurance, among 23 other demands, according to the company.  

Rawashdeh said the strikers’ demands — if met — would cost ACT over JD10 million a year.

He added that Labour Minister Nidal Katamine had held talks with ACT officials and representatives of the striking employees to settle the dispute. 

Katamine issued a statement Tuesday saying the ministry will exert all efforts to end the work stoppage, as it has a negative impact on the Kingdom’s economy. 

The ministry’s secretary general, Hamadah Abu Nijmeh, said in the statement, made available to The Jordan Times, that a settlement is expected to be reached in the “coming hours”. 

Abu Nijmeh’s optimism was echoed by Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Chief Commissioner and ACT Chairman Kamel Mahadin, who told reporters Tuesday that the strike is set to end within 48 hours. 

Mahadin urged the ACT management and representatives of striking employees to hold intensive meetings to agree on solutions that meet the interests of both parties as soon as possible, calling on striking employees to return to work and “put Jordan’s interests before any personal gains”.   

The efforts to resolve the labour dispute at the container terminal were met with a positive reaction from the commercial sector, which stands to lose the most if the strike continues. 

Amman Chamber of Commerce President Issa Murad told The Jordan Times that it is important to intensify talks between employees and the ACT administration to end the strike, expressing hope it would see an end “very soon”. 

Murad urged the government to intervene further to end the strike as it would negatively affect the flow of goods, particularly food items, into the Kingdom. 

In an official letter sent to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Hatem Halawani, the leading merchant stressed the need to intervene “immediately to resume work at the terminal”.

List of General Union of Port Workers’ demands 

26 demands for a total incremental fixed cost of close to JD10 Million per annum: 

15th month paycheque for all employees

Profit share increase from 3% to 5%

Bus transport for employees’ school children

Early retirement payouts to increase from 28 to 48 months

Medical cover for those who take an early retirement option

Medical coverage for employees’ parents

Housing allowance increase by JD75 per month

8 hours paid vacation per month for admin employees

Adjustments to current annual salary increment system 

Increase in annual vacation from 21 to 30 days for all employees

Risk allowance for all employees

Increase in ACT’s contribution to the housing fund

Increase in ACT’s contribution to the Social Solidarity Fund

Life insurance policies for all employees

Transfer of project and development employees to a shift system

Transfer of IT employees to a shift system

Transfer of finance employees to a shift system

Working rotations for quay crane and gantry crane operators to be 2 for 1 (6 effective working hours for 12 hours pay)

Working rotations for other container handling equipment operators to be defined

An additional 1-hour salary per day to cover transport durations to and from the terminal 

Paid 1-hour leave per day for female nursing employees 

An additional JD200 per annum for employees with schoolchildren

An additional JD300 per annum for employees with children attending universities

Offering university scholarships to the children of 5 employees per year instead of 1 

Offering umrah sponsorships to 20 employees per year instead of 5 

Allowing operators to take prayer breaks with no fixed times

Source: ACT