Romanian Port Workers

Romanian port workers’ union FNSP protests against the growing informal work in Romanian seaports

Port workers members of Federatia Nationala a Sindicatelor Portuare din Romania will stop the work in the Port of Constanta on 10 May, in protest against illegal practices that allow expansion of informal work in Romanian ports. ‘Nearly half of cargo traffic is handled by workers without legal contracts’ said the FNSP President Petre Costel.

FNSP alerted the ETF and ITF with regards to the gradual spread of casual work in the country’s seaports, to the fact that port operators systematically employ workforce from companies which are not authorised to supply labour force for main port operations, to the fact that the use on large scale of casual work – particularly by transnational port operators - set ground for deep-rooted, unfair competition, in the detriment of traditional port operators, who play by the law. This has resulted already in massive collective redundancies amongst legally employed port workers. The aim of these practices – say the union officials – is to lower wages and make more profit. ‘Some of the top 7 world operators that are currently active in the Port of Constanta apply and encourage these practices. Affected by this situation are also a considerable number of traditional port operators that have collective agreements with the trade unions’, said the union president.

In his letters addressed to the Romanian Prime Minister, the Minister of Transport and the Minister of Labour, Family and Social Solidarity, the ETF General Secretary Eduardo Chagas points out that all above practices pose a serious threat to safety and security of ports, port operations, cargo and workers. He urged the Romanian government to engage in a dialogue with the FNSP and find solutions to settle the situation.