Dockers' unions sound 'port package three' warning



26 September 2012
Leaders of dockers’ unions affiliated to the ETF (European Transport’ Workers’ Federation and the ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) met today at the ITF Maritime Roundtable in Casablanca to explore the future of dock work in Europe. Their meeting followed an action and information day on 25th September 2012 that was intended to send a strong signal to the European Commission (EC) on the day it held a European ports policy review conference in Brussels.

On the same day, members of the Oficiaismar union in Portugal took part in a second national strike in protest at government proposals to relax employment regulations in the ports there.

Dockers’ union leaders at the Maritime Roundtable warned that the attack on Portuguese dock work is “the shape of things to come” and signals a concerted attempt by the European Commission to liberalise the port industry in Europe. This, they claimed, will result in an increase in casualisation, the erosion of trade union rights and a lowering of health and safety standards and conditions that dockers and their unions have fought to secure for over 100 years.

Similar Europe-wide legislation, in the form of port packages one and two, were successfully defeated in 2003 and 2006 thanks to the defiance and solidarity of dockers around the world. According to the ETF and ITF it now seems that this same legislation is being forced through on a national basis, but with the same potential wide-ranging effects on dockers.

Chair of the ETF dockers’ section, Terje Samuelsen, said that: “Portugal can be considered as a laboratory for the European ports policy. Several measures put forward by the Portuguese government correspond perfectly to the proposals that can be expected across Europe. We have seen this before in port packages one and two. We defeated it then and we will defeat it now”.

Marc Loridan, dockers’ leader of the BTB union, warned the Belgian and Portuguese governments and the European Commission that dockers around the world “are ready to discuss this but watch out - if you want a war with the European dockers’ unions, we are ready to fight”.

ITF president and dockers’ section chair Paddy Crumlin said that this type of deregulation of standards and employment protection would not be countenanced by the world dockers’ movement. “In a global industry maintenance of standards and trade union rights is a global issue, not just a national or regional one,” he stated.

PORT PACKAGE 3 EXPLAINED


For those who don't know what Port Package 3 is please read, this is really important to ALL dockworkers around the UK.

The European Parliament alleges that every port and terminal operates a monopoly, because every ship wanting to unload cargo has to use the services of that port or terminal, it’s labour force, its cargo handling facilities and equipment. It argues that EU rules on the free movement of goods and services are being broken because other service providers cannot go into a port and unload ships.
So the EU proposes new laws which basically requires all ports and terminals to compete with other companies, like agency companies, can compete for the work which comes into our ports and terminals. The new laws will undermine every collective bargaining agreement as other employers could take our work. The competition for work would come down to the lowest price, meaning the company which offerred the lowest wage, terms and conditions wins, and we would lose.
Ports themselves would be forced to allow the use cargo handling equipment (for which they could charge a fee) and facilities.
The unions and the employers all opposed this last time and we worked together to defeat it, and narrowly won.
This time the employers are keeping quiet which may mean that deals are being done behind the scenes, and that means we’re going to get screwed. 
PP3 could mean the end of any type of good, secure employment, which is unionised and has good terms and conditions. It would mean the return of casual labour across the UK and Europe. We’d all be going back 100 years, this is the most important issue that faces us all.
We fight this or we all lose



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