Ships are moored at a port on the Parana River in Santa Fe, Argentina, December 21, 2020. REUTERS/Stringer
By Hugh Bronstein (Reuters) – Argentine port workers said on Tuesday they would hold a 48-hour strike starting at midnight (0300 GMT Wednesday), after paralyzing agricultural exports from the country last week with an initial work stoppage over demands they are vaccinated against COVID-19.
Cargo traffic at the ports hub of Rosario, from which about 80% of the country’s grains exports are shipped, was snarled by last week’s strike by tugboat captains and other maritime port workers. A group of 11 unions issued a statement late on Tuesday announcing the new work stoppage.
They are asking to be designated as essential workers, eligible for vaccination against the coronavirus. So far, 75,056 people have died from the virus in Argentina as the country gets hit by a second wave of infections.
Argentina is under a nightly curfew as the government steps up efforts to halt the spread of COVID-19.
The unions said the new strike was called for “given the exponential increase in cases, the regrettable loss of several colleagues and the failure of all negotiations we have held with national authorities.”
The only labor groups given priority for vaccines in Argentina so far have been health workers, police and educators.
The country is the world’s No. 3 corn supplier and top exporter of soymeal livestock feed used to fatten hogs and poultry from Europe to Southeast Asia.
Last week’s strike left seven cargo ships stranded at their moorings in Rosario, due to the falling water level of the Parana River, until they could be towed out of port. The last of the seven ships was towed out of Rosario earlier on Tuesday.
The strikes are occurring at high export season. Argentine farmers are currently harvesting soybeans and corn, the country’s two main cash crops.
(Reporting by Hugh Bronstein and Maximilian Heath; Editing by Peter Cooney, Reuters)
Join the gCaptain Club for curated content, insider opinions, and vibrant community discussions.
Join the 105,932 members that receive our newsletter.
Have a news tip? Let us know.
By Gavin van Marle (The Loadstar) – Hong Kong fell out of the world’s top 10 container ports last year, for the first time in the history of container shipping, according...
By Paul Burkhardt (Bloomberg) — A.P. Moller – Maersk A/S is contesting a process held by South Africa’s state logistics firm Transnet SOC Ltd. to find a partner to develop sub-Saharan...
In the wake of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, Tradepoint Atlantic (TPA) is set to use an $8.26 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to...
Access exclusive insights, engage in vibrant discussions, and gain perspectives from our CEO.
Sign Up
Maritime and offshore news trusted by our 105,932 members delivered daily straight to your inbox.
Essential news coupled with the finest maritime content sourced from across the globe.
Sign Up
Join The Club
