Bilboestiba APIE, the main stevedoring group at the port of Bilbao, has withdrawn an earlier redundancy plan after consultations with workers.
The company, with accumulated debts of ¢1m ($1.49m), has agreed an 11-point rescue plan with the unions. This will result in a cost-cutting exercise to offset the significant loss of traffic in the port. As a result, most stevedores will now work no more than 16 days a month. Also, within the space of two years, all transport duties currently undertaken by port workers will be transferred to stevedores.
