Dockworkers call off Wednesday strike

Something of a breakthrough was achieved yesterday in talks with the employers' association Anesco, which demonstrated its willingness to find agreement on guaranteeing the future employment of dockworkers.

Antolín Goya for the dockworkers said that there will be a further meeting on Thursday and was hopeful of a definitive agreement being reached by the end of the week.

The dispute has been over legislative reform which will, in effect, bring an end to the closed shops operated by workers' stevedore companies at Spain's ports. The dockworkers' representatives, stressing that Anesco is an open and capable employers' association, doesn't believe that the association will ultimately decide to abandon collective bargaining arrangements with these companies.

If all strike action is called off, this will come as great relief to the distribution sector in Majorca. The Balearic transport operators federation yesterday echoed fears already expressed by the Chamber of Commerce and the large retailers' association that strikes could be highly damaging.