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Port workers at France's Fos-Lavera oil hub are expected to hold a 48-hour strike today and tomorrow to coincide with the presentation of the government’s port reform bill to the National Assembly.

Workers at the Port of Marseille have staged a series of strikes in recent months over government plans to privatize loading activities at France's autonomous ports. In April, France's national port union called on workers to stage a number of twenty-four hour strikes on a weekly basis, which has lead to a number disruptions to operations at Fos-Lavera and the Port Authority of Marseille has also incurred financial losses as a result of the protests.

In an official statement released last week, the CGT said "The national CGT federation for ports and docks call all port workers to block ports for 48 hours on June 17 and June 18, in addition to the disruptions started on April 14."

Last week, A 48-hour strike at Fos-Lavera blocked some 50 ships at sea and at quay, including 22 oil tankers, which were prevented from loading at the oil terminal.

The Fos-Lavera oil and gas terminal is the world's third biggest port for oil products with 64.2 million tonnes transiting per year. It supplies crude to eight refineries in southeast France with a total capacity of approximately 800,000 barrels per day.

Yesterday, port workers blocked road access to Total SA's (TOT) refinery at Fos-Lavera, according to Dow Jones.

Striking workers are understood to have carried out a blockade for two hours on Monday morning before it was later lifted at 09:00 GMT. Sources at Total have confirmed that the blockade took place.