Undoubtedly one of the most contentious and potentially problematic areas of port reform is labour restructuring. Indeed, since dockworkers weld such disproportionate power in effecting global trade, the long history of strike waves in many countries in response to technological change has meant that ports have long carried a reputation as a particularly difficult area of labour restructuring (Turnbull, 1999). The past decade has seen a rapid increase in strike action by dockwokers in many parts of the developed and developing world as a response to the the rapid changes in the sector.