THE HAGUE, The Netherlands - Movement of containers at one of Europe's largest stevedoring companies, European Container Terminals, nearly ground to a halt Tuesday on the second day of a wildcat strike over proposed new working rosters.

Movement of containers at the ECT terminals - usually up to 70,000 per week - nearly came to a standstill because of the lack of workers, said the company's director, Jan Westerhout.

"We are trying to keep truck treatment alive, but there is hardly anybody at work," he said. "Throughput is almost frozen."

Westerhout said a proposal agreed with labor unions involved more flexible work times for the company's staff.

"They do not want to hear the word flexibility in the port of Rotterdam," Westerhout said. "That is apparently something deep in their genes."

Union officials who negotiated the proposal with the company have not approved the strike but added: "I am really very concerned about the reputation damage of the port of Rotterdam."

Rotterdam is Europe's largest port in terms of the number of containers handled each year and the seventh largest in the world. Singapore is the world's largest port by containers handled.

ECT, which employs just over 2,000 people, is part of Hong Kong-based Hutchinson Port Holdings.

 

Contact your BDP representative as needed for updates on the status of shipment.