NEITHER SIDE OPTIMISTIC ON ROTTERDAM PORT ISSUES
Employers and the port union, FNV, are
to meet again this afternoon to attempt a settlement of the
six-week-old dispute in Rotterdam's general cargo sector, but
neither side is optimistic, spokesmen for both sides told
Reuters.
    Little progress was made in last night's three hours of
talks, with both sides largely reiterating their positions.
    "There is still a very large gap between the employers and
the FNV, and I can't say that we expect to reach any agreement.
But at least we are still talking," a union spokesman said.
    Employers organization chairman, Jacques Schoufour, accused
the FNV of intransigence in refusing to alter its stance at all
over the past two months.
    "The FNV is not serious about our discussions and I am
really not optimistic about it changing its point of view at
all."
    "If we find this afternoon that the FNV still refuses to
accept the necessary redundancies in the general cargo sector,
then we will break off the talks and the redundancies may begin
later this month," Schoufour said.
    The series of strikes, which employers say has cost them
more than seven mln guilders in lost import business in the
past six weeks, began on January 19 in protest at plans for 800
redundancies from the sector's 4,000 workforce starting with
350 this year.
    Late last month Social Affairs minister Louw de Graaf said
unless the dispute was settled by yesterday he would withdraw
the sector's 10 mln guilder annual labour subsidy.
    Both sides wrote to the minister yesterday setting out
their cases, but Schoufour said he did not expect to hear from
him before Wednesday at the earliest.
 Reuter
