TCP and SUPRA sign collective agreement for operations at the Port of Montevideo
A collective agreement in force until September 2031 increases guaranteed work shifts and establishes mechanisms to preserve continuity of operations at the Port of Montevideo container terminal.
Terminal Cuenca del Plata (TCP) and the Single Union of Port Workers and Related Activities (SUPRA) signed, on October 7, 2026, a collective agreement for workers at the specialized container terminal of the Port of Montevideo, Uruguay. The agreement is valid for five years, from October 1, 2026, to September 30, 2031.
The agreement was formalized at the National Labor Directorate (DINATRA), which is linked to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS), after months of negotiations. The talks followed an open-ended work stoppage at TCP that began on September 16 and a 24-hour national port strike on September 21. According to the sources, the measures caused delays in operations and cargo transport, while the terminal operated under a temporary minimum-services regime.
One of the agreement's main points is the increase in guaranteed work shifts, which correspond to the number of shifts for which payment is guaranteed even when a worker is not called in for all of them. Starting in October, employees who had 13 or 15 shifts will have 17, while those with 18 will have 19. For workers who had 20 shifts, the guarantee will rise to 21 as of January 2027. The system includes ranges reaching 22 shifts.
The agreement also defines conditions for maintaining activities on Sundays and holidays, provides for minimum teams, and establishes watch duties during union assemblies. The four six-hour shifts for crane operations will be maintained, with operators called in proportionally.
The parties also included a labor-peace clause. In the event of new deadlocks, they must resort to the prescribed negotiating bodies, including DINATRA, before taking measures capable of affecting the terminal's operation.
The agreement provides for a technical committee with monthly meetings to monitor the effects of new technologies on jobs, occupational health, and training. It also requires prior notice to the union about the implementation of personnel-control tools such as GPS, cameras, and algorithms.
After the agreement was signed, the Ministries of Labor and of Transport and Public Works canceled the resolution of September 14, which had established provisional minimum services to ensure the safety and continuity of operations during the conflict.