ETF Spanish affiliates FSC-CCOO and TCM-UGT along with IDC’s Coordinadora have organised a European Dockworkers’ Conference that took place in Barcelona on 11 December 2012.
ETF members from Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Bulgaria, Poland and France have attended the conference, whose main aim was to demonstrate solidarity to the Spanish dockers in the framework of the infringement procedure opened by the European Commission against Spain on dockwork organisation and recruitment in Spanish ports.
ETF members from Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Bulgaria, Poland and France have attended the conference, whose main aim was to demonstrate solidarity to the Spanish dockers in the framework of the infringement procedure opened by the European Commission against Spain on dockwork organisation and recruitment in Spanish ports.
A declaration (+ link to the doc) was adopted by the unions attending the conference, confirming their solidarity to Spanish unions and stating the disagreement with the strategy that is being developed by the European Commission according to the latest declarations from Commissioner Kallas. The conference further resolved that ETF and IDC will coordinate in the near future a common strategy for an EU-wide industrial campaign to oppose current and future attempts to liberalise and deregulate dock labour in EU ports.
You can download the European Dockworkers' Conference Declaration in English, French and Spanish under related documents at the bottom of this page.
Port workers in Italy set for strike action over retroactive pay freeze
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Port authority employees in Italy are taking strike action next week in a dispute over a government pay freeze that is being backdated.
The workers, represented by the Federazione Italiana Lavoratori Trasporti FILT-CGIL, Federazione Italiana Trasporti -CISL and Unione Italiana dei Lavoratori dei Trasporti, have called for a strike of port authority employees on 5 December 2012. They are demanding that the government reverse its decision to freeze workers’ pay as part of austerity measures. The move not only contravenes the wage hike stipulated in the collective bargaining agreement but also forces workers to pay back the increases they received since January 2012.
The unions, all of whom are affiliated to the ETF and ITF, have condemned the decision. The port authority clerical workers, who enjoy civil service status in Italy, could also be joined by other workers, such as stevedores, following a call to action from UILTRASPORTI.
The collective bargaining agreement covers all of Italy’s port sector workers; the port authority association is one of several employers involved in the negotiations. The government’s decision puts the pay of workers across the whole sector at risk, paving the way for other groups of employers to undermine the agreement.
Livia Spera, ETF political secretary for dockers and fisheries, said:“The ETF and its affiliated unions are monitoring the situation closely and stand ready to support to its Italian members. What is happening in Italy is part of a general trend that is reversing decisions taken by social partners involved in collective bargaining negotiations, threatening their role and autonomy.”
ETF joins dockers’ demonstration in Portugal
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On 29 November 2012, hundreds of dockworkers have demonstrated in the capital of Portugal to protest against proposed changes to the labour laws of the country’s ports.
On 29 November 2012, hundreds of dockworkers have demonstrated in the capital of Portugal to protest against proposed changes to the labour laws of the country’s ports.
Together with delegations of ETF affiliates from Belgium (BTB and ACV Transcom), Finland (AKT) and Denmark (3F), ETF General Secretary Eduardo Chagas participated in the demonstration and expressed ETF’s solidarity by addressing the Portuguese dockers. In his statement, he confirmed ETF’s and ITF’s solidarity and denounced the fact that the Portuguese government is hiding behind the future proposals from the European Commission. “We need to be united in this battle against all present and future attacks against dockworkers, no matter if they come from the European Commission, national governments, employer’s organisations or powerful maritime lobbies” Eduardo Chagas stated.
The Portuguese parliament has been discussing the proposed reform of port labour law and expressed a general favourable vote to the text, which will now be examined by the specialised commission.
To get an impression of the atmosphere, you can watch this videoor browse through the photo album.
Dockers’ demo in Portugal over port liberalisation plans
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Dockers’ unionists in Portugal will be voicing their opposition to a new national port law at a demonstration in Lisbon this week.
The activists will be staging their protest outside the Portuguese parliament in Lisbon on 29 November, where a vote will be taking place on the law. They are furious that the government has failed to consult unions over the proposed legislation, which was announced in August. The plans respond to pressure from the Troika tripartite committee (led by the European Commission with the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund) and could liberalise port labour, deregulate dockers’ work and lead to casualisation.
The unions are calling for international solidarity to highlight the issue; Eduardo Chagas, general secretary of the European Transport Workers’ Federation, delegations from Belgian unions ACV Transcom and Belgische Transportarbeidersbond, the Danish ETF affiliate 3F as well as the Finnish Transport Workers’ Union will also be at the protest.
Port unions in Portugal, which have formed a “common front” to deal with the proposals, have been holding strikes and other actions since August following the government’s refusal to enter into meaningful consultations over the text. They are concerned that the new law could redefine dockers’ work if casualisation goes ahead. The ITF- and ETF-affiliated Oficiaismar, part of the front, wants to discussions with the government to be established; it has reported that all the authorities have done so far is attempt to divide the union movement.
Once the vote has taken place, the matter will be passed to a special committee; it will eventually go to the vote at the plenary.
Port unions in Portugal, which have formed a “common front” to deal with the proposals, have been holding strikes and other actions since August following the government’s refusal to enter into meaningful consultations over the text. They are concerned that the new law could redefine dockers’ work if casualisation goes ahead. The ITF- and ETF-affiliated Oficiaismar, part of the front, wants to discussions with the government to be established; it has reported that all the authorities have done so far is attempt to divide the union movement.
Once the vote has taken place, the matter will be passed to a special committee; it will eventually go to the vote at the plenary.
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