Ten-day Dockworker Strike to Impact Portuguese Ports

Dockworkers in the Portuguese ports of Lisbon, Setubal and Figueira da Foz will go on a 10-day strike starting Nov. 14 to protest at a potential end of collective bargaining agreements, the stevedores union said in a statement.

The ports to be affected by the strike are the third, fourth and fifth biggest in Portugal, in terms of container shipments.

The strike will not affect the country's largest port in Sines, nor the second-largest in Leixoes, near Porto, which together account for three quarters of all container shipments.

A wider stevedores strike in 2012 against labour law changes disrupted Portugal's exports as the country struggled with an economic and debt crisis. The economy returned to growth last year, helped by growing exports and the economic recovery has accelerated this year.

Reporting by Patricia Rua