News
The Japan Harbor Transportation Association (Nikkokyo) expressed skepticism yesterday on a request that labor unions had made with Nikkokyo for the entire industry to agree on a non-operation day every month at all ports in Japan.
“I can emotionally understand [the unions] want to have a day off,” said Nikkokyo Chairman Masami Kubo. “It is, however, difficult to obtain consent from shipping companies, shippers and other [port] users and have agreement across the industry.”
On April 18, Nikkokyo resumed the fourth-round central collective bargaining session in the fiscal 2024 spring wage negotiations with the National Federation of Dockworkers Unions of Japan (Zenkoku Kowan) and the Japanese Confederation of Port and Transport Workers' Unions (Koun Domei). Zenkoku Kowan and Koun Domei are demanding the development of agreement across the industry on a nationwide non-operation day a month by May 24.
If the parties do not reach agreement by May 24, Zenkoku Kowan and Koun Domei will stage a nationwide strike on May 26.
“We cannot close all ports across Japan at the same time,” said Kubo. “We will not have consent from users.” “From a global viewpoint, a special treatment to allow just Japanese ports to go out of business is difficult,” he added.
