Piraeus dockers have agreed to suspend their 17-day strike until November 2 while the terms of a 35-year concession of the port's container terminal to Chinese state firm Cosco Pacific are renegotiated, the Morning Star Online reported.
The dock workers said in a statement on the weekend that they would return to their jobs this week and that it would take three to four days to clear the backlog of several thousand containers.
The strike, which began on October 1 as Cosco Pacific was scheduled to take over management of the two-pier terminal from the state, cost Greek bosses up to US$44.6 million.
Initially the dockers objected to the agreement, saying that it would cost them jobs as Cosco modernised the port facilities, but now say that they would settle for the government renegotiating the deal's terms to include job assurances.
The dock workers said in a statement on the weekend that they would return to their jobs this week and that it would take three to four days to clear the backlog of several thousand containers.
The strike, which began on October 1 as Cosco Pacific was scheduled to take over management of the two-pier terminal from the state, cost Greek bosses up to US$44.6 million.
Initially the dockers objected to the agreement, saying that it would cost them jobs as Cosco modernised the port facilities, but now say that they would settle for the government renegotiating the deal's terms to include job assurances.