The Panama Canal expansion is no longer at threat of being delayed, after the consortium managing the project agreed to pay construction workers a pay rise and thereby quell any possibility of strike action, according to IHS Maritime 360.
GUPC, the consortium behind the expansion, will be paying workers a base 5% pay rise. Some employees will receive more if they fall under a certain category.
The ACP was reported as saying that it was “in no way responsible for labour issues arising from any failure on the part of GUPC to meet demands by its subcontractors.”
It was also said to have “ignored the negotiation, despite being the owner of the project and [having] a wide knowledge of the financial commitments GUPC has had to assume.”
The canal expansion itself is now 93% complete and is still set to open in early 2016.
So far it has cost in excess of US$5 billion to complete.
(Source: ACP)
