COURT PUTS INJUNCTION ON DUTCH PORT REDUNDANCIES
Employers in Rotterdam port's
strike-hit general cargo sector have been served with an
injunction until May 7 preventing them from continuing with
plans for 350 redundancies this year, an employers'
organisation spokesman said.
    An Amsterdam court yesterday ruled there had been a legal
fault in the employers' redundancy procedure.
    The employers' spokesman said they were likely to restart
the redundancy procedure afresh next week in an attempt to
pre-empt the May 7 final court ruling.
    Port and transport union representative Paul Rosenmuller
described the court ruling as a victory for the union, but
added there was still a long way to go before the dispute that
has hit the general cargo sector for the past eight weeks was
resolved.
    Rosenmuller said there would be a meeting of the sector's
4,000 workers this afternoon to decide on further action in the
campaign of lightning strikes that began on January 19 in
protest at planned redundancies of 800, starting with 350 this
year.
    The employers said there were no immediate plans for
meetings with the union either on the proposed redundancies or
on a new work practice agreement in the sector.
    Meanwhile, discussions on a new work agreement in the
port's grain sector, due to resume next week, are stalemated,
although agreement could be close in the coal and ore sector,
the employers' spokesman added.
 Reuter
