Europe's biggest ports faced disruption yesterday as dock workers went on strike to protest against European Union plans to liberalize port industry services, trade unions said.

Some 600 dockers are expected to join a four-hour strike at the port of Rotterdam, Europe's busiest, affecting work at several container, bulk and ferry terminals, a spokesman for the biggest Dutch trade union FNV said.

No oil terminals will be disrupted at Rotterdam, where the protest will continue until mid-afternoon, port and trade union officials said.

The port of Antwerp, Europe's second biggest by volume, was at a standstill.

Dock workers across the EU are protesting against a bill aimed at opening up port services across the 25-nation bloc to greater competition. The issue is due to be debated by the European Parliament today.

A coalition of socialists, Communists and liberals is expected to reject the EU legislation, strongly backed by industry, in a vote tomorrow, parliamentary sources said.

The strike at Antwerp began at 05:00 GMT yesterday and was expected to last 24 hours.

"All dockers are striking today. Ships can come in but they can't be handled," said Ann Wittemans, spokeswoman for the Antwerp port. "At this moment we don't have any delays but there will be during the course of the day."

A total of some 800 dockers were expected to strike at the Dutch ports of Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Vlissingen yesterday, the FNV trade union said.

Dock workers are also heading for Strasbourg to protest in front of the European Parliament against what their colleagues at the northern French port of Dunkirk called "wild and absurd liberalization" of the port industry.

The EU's Port Package II program proposes to end monopolies on cargo handling by terminal companies and to permit shipping firms to appoint independent contractors to load and unload vessels.

A spokesman for France's main grain export hub at Rouen said port activities there were hardly affected as most dock workers at the port were employed on private contracts.

In Sweden dock workers went on strike from 07:00 to 10:00 GMT but officials could not say how ports were affected.

(China Daily January 17, 2006)