Honduran dockworkers from the SGTM union protested at ICTSI at the Port of Portland in March. Their union brothers and sisters in Puerto Cortes, Honduras, have suffered threats and violence against their families since ICTSI privatized their terminal.
MUA national secretary, Paddy Crumlin, highlighted ICTSI’s recent involvement in labour disputes in both the US and in Honduras, stating that the Philippine operator has “a poor international reputation in industrial relations”.
Crumlin, who is also president of the International Transport Workers’ Federation and chairs its dockers’ section, said the MUA would work with the company to develop productive, efficient and safe work practices. “We will work with them to optimise the standards, but it’s a surprising and a worrying development.”