THE union representing 45,000 striking US dockworkers at east and Gulf coast ports reached a deal on Thursday to suspend a three-day strike until January 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract.

The union, the International Longshoremen’s Association, agreed for their members to resume working immediately. 

The temporary end to the strike came after the union and the US Maritime Alliance, which represents ports and shipping companies, reached a tentative agreement on wages, the union and employers said in a joint statement.

A person briefed on the agreement said that the ports sweetened their wage offer from about 50 per cent over six years to 62 per cent. 

Any wage increase would have to be approved by union members as part of the ratification of a final contract.

Dockers went on strike early on Tuesday after their contract expired in a dispute over pay and the automation of tasks at 36 ports stretching from Maine to Texas which handle about half of all cargo from ships coming into and out of the US.

The walkout raised the risk of shortages if it lasted more than a few weeks. 

“With the grace of God, and the goodwill of neighbours, it’s gonna hold,” President Joe Biden told reporters on Thursday night after the agreement was announced.

The union had been demanding a 77 per cent raise over six years, plus a complete ban on the use of automation at the ports, which members see as a threat to their jobs. 

Thursday’s deal came after US acting labour secretary Julie Su met with foreign-owned shipping companies on a pre-dawn Zoom call.

She told them that she could get the union to the bargaining table to extend the contract if the carriers made a higher wage offer. 

By midday, the Maritime Alliance members agreed to a large increase, bringing about the agreement, according to a source familiar with the events.