Seamen's union defers nationwide strike

Seafarers body Forward Seamen's Union of India (FSUI) has deferred its indefinite strike till January 31 following the intervention of the Mumbai High Court.

The FSUI was planning to launch a nation-wide indefinite strike from December 13 to protest against the apathy shown by the government to recouping the Rs 100-crore loss suffered by the Seamen Provident Fund (SPF) in 2002.

The FSUI and National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) have asked the government to pay Rs 92.78 crore along with interest as a one-time grant without setting the same as a precedent for the future.

In light of the seamen unions' plea, the high court has asked the government to consider the proposal of a one-time settlement within a period of four weeks and adjourned the matter to January 16.

FSUI Secretary Naresh Birwadkar said the court had assured the union that the interest rate for the recouped provident fund amount would be brought up following the one-time payment by the government. "We welcome the decision of the high court as this will bring a new dawn in the matter of provident fund problems faced by seafarers," he said.

Earlier, Indian National Shipowners' Association (INSA) had dragged the seamen union to the high court against the strike call as it would have caused a heavy loss to the shipping industry.

Welcoming the postponement of the strike, an INSA spokesperson said the shipping companies are waiting for a final decision in wake of the high court's direction to the government to consider the union's one-time settlement proposal.