Dutch members of parliament said theycould do little to help resolve the dispute over redundancies
in Rotterdam port's general cargo sector and urged the union
and employers to sort out their differences themselves.
    Both sides gave evidence to the all-party standing
committee on Social Affairs today, but committee members said
they saw little chance of parliamentary intervention.
    The dispute began on January 19 in protest at employers'
plans for 800 redundancies from the 4,000-strong workforce,
starting with 350 this year. The port and transport union, FNV,
is to challenge the redundancies in an Amsterdam court
tomorrow.
 Reuter
