ITF and employers fail to reach pay deal

No agreement was reached over shipping’s largest collective bargaining pact during a “difficult” second round of negotiations in Tokyo.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and employers represented by the Joint Negotiating Group (JNG) sat at the same table on Tuesday and Wednesday, following the opening round of negotiations in London in January.

Dave Heindel, chair of ITF’s seafarers’ section who chaired the talks, said: “We have made some progress, but at this stage the prospect of concluding an agreement before the current one expires looks remote.