Nearly 20,000 workers at India’s main ports, who had threatened to strike indefinitely from Wednesday, ended their walkout late on Tuesday after agreeing to a new five-year deal.

The deal avoids further problems for an already strained global supply chain that is suffering from high shipping costs and congestion at major ports in Asia and Europe.

Unions initially demanded a wage increase of about 10.6% but agreed to an 8.5% increase over five years, according to a document signed by union leaders seen by Reuters.

The transport ministry set up a bilateral committee in March 2021 to negotiate wages, and workers submitted their demands six months later, before the previous agreement expired in December of that year, according to another memo seen by Reuters.

The committee and India’s top port authority reached an agreement with unions, which had been in “lengthy discussions” in the country’s capital, New Delhi, seeking a settlement over wage reviews and retirement benefits.

The document signed by union leaders said that “the six unions have agreed to postpone the proposed strike in view of the understanding of … “

The workers’ group had earlier agreed to go on strike after a meeting in the coastal city of Thoothukudi in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

Ports such as Chennai, Kolkota and Mumbai handle 1.62 billion tonnes of cargo annually, making India one of the world’s largest exporters.