Relief as US ports labour strike is postponed

The collective bargaining agreement between the ILA and USMX was set to expire on September 30 and the two sides now have more time to negotiate a new collective labour agreement. The negotiations will be held under the auspices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), an independent US agency, based in Washington.

\”In taking this significant step, the parties emphasised that they are doing so for the good of the country to avoid any interruption in interstate commerce,\” George Cohen FMCS director said in a statement.

Some shippers had accelerated freight deliveries and diverted cargoes to the US West Coast to avoid the possibility of goods being held up in East Coast and US Gulf Coast ports during the proposed strike.