The source of the conflict is the commissioning of two new highly automated container terminals, expected to lead to the loss of 700 out of 4,000 jobs in container throughput at the port in 2017.
Container workers at the Port of Rotterdam have voted to hold a series of 24-hour strikes in December and January in protest at possible job cuts, threatening to freeze the movement of goods through Europe’s largest port.
Niek Stam, leader of the FNV Havens union, said in a statement members of the union had voted in favor of the strikes to back their demand for guarantees of no layoffs for the coming nine years.
Major container employers ECT, APMT and RWG have rejected that demand in contract talks which have been running since April.