Port Industry Update, Issue 4, September 2006*

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Contents:

1. Section Update
2. Health and Safety
3. Industry Trends
4. Africa and Middle East
5. Americas & The Caribbean
6. Asia Pacific
7. Europe

In the interest of covering a variety of issues while keeping the PIU short, all items are deliberately brief. Further information is available to affiliated unions on request – please see contact details on the last page.

1. SECTION UPDATE

DOCKERS’ REPRESENTATIVES MEET WITH DP WORLD SENIOR MANAGEMENT

Dockers’ Section 1st Vice-Chair, Lars Lindgren, General Secretary, David Cockroft, Dockers’ Section Secretary, Frank Leys, and Section Committee Member Mike Gibbons of the Transport and General Workers’ Union UK, home union of P&O Ports, met Dubai Ports World’s Chief Operating Officer, Anil Wats and Senior Vice President & Managing Director for Europe and North / West Africa, Roger Roels on 29 August to discuss industrial relations with the company. DP World expressed its openness to ongoing dialogue with the ITF particularly on health and safety matters. The Section has been seeking to engage with the company since its acquisition of P&O Ports and sent a circular (064/D.7/2006) on this issue to all affiliates. Unions will receive a report of the outcomes of the meeting in a circular shortly.

PORTS OF CONVENIENCE CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED AT CONGRESS

Dockers holding their Section Conference in conjunction with the 41st ITF Congress in Durban, South Africa in August strongly backed the ITF’s Ports of Convenience (POC) Campaign and endorsed an accompanying draft strategy. The strategy builds on input provided by affiliates at various meetings and seminars held over the past year, since the Dockers’ Section meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where it was decided that a POC campaign should not be delayed. The POC Campaign aims to promote acceptable standards in ports and terminals around the world to stamp out the exploitation of dock workers and to prevent job losses. A port or terminal of convenience is one that does not meet such standards. Affiliates attending the various consultation meetings and seminars identified 5 key themes that the campaign should focus on. These were: global network terminal operators; competition; privatisation; casualisation and the lack of trade union rights. The POC Campaign’s strategy is to address these related but different issues in a coherent and coordinated way and to implement the campaign at the global, regional and national levels to ensure that the different experiences and priorities that may exist in different regions can be accommodated so that actions and activities are relevant to dock workers at the workplace level. Affiliates were sent the POC Campaign strategy document and other section conference documents prior to the ITF Congress. These documents are also available on http://www.itfglobal.org/congress/dockers.cfm If you would like a copy of the strategy document please contact the Dockers’ Section (contact details on the last page).

AP MOELLER-MAERSK NETWORK LAUNCHED

Delegates at the 41st ITF Congress unanimously endorsed a motion to set up an AP Moeller-Maersk worldwide network of union activists and officials. At a well-attended side meeting convened by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), it was noted that although some unions had good relations with the company, “Maersk comes down with an iron fist on workers trying to secure union recognition for the first time”. It was stressed that the network should be flexible enough to respond quickly to situations, be action-orientated and should avoid excessive bureaucracy. However, the network must operate in close consultation with all members and sections to ensure a ‘win-win’ situation for all involved. The first meeting of the Network will be organised by 3F (Denmark) for next spring in Copenhagen, the location of Maersk’s headquarters.

CONCERN FOR TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN SRI LANKA

Dockers in the Port of Colombo organised by the Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya (JSS) initiated a work to rule action in July following an impasse in salary negotiations. At the initial stage, the government refused to even discuss the issue but following a successful campaign by unions, a settlement was reached. The JSS has expressed concern over the threat to trade unions rights in Sri Lanka following the government’s decision to seek judicial orders to scuttle trade union actions in a number of sectors, including in the ports and railways, which it considers to be in violation of Conventions 87 & 98. The union intends to make a complaint to the ILO’s Freedom of Association Committee. The ITF, along with the IMF (metalworkers) and ITGLWF (textiles and garment workers) have promised support.

JORDANIAN DOCKERS WIN UNPAID WAGES FOR FOREIGN SEAFARERS

The Union of Port Workers in Aqaba has successfully negotiated a claim on behalf of 15 seafarers from Latvia and Ukraine who had not been paid for over six months. In July, the seafarers contacted the ITF’s Arab World Office first from Port Said in Egypt, then soon after, on their way to Jordan. Following a request for assistance from the ITF, the union went to meet the ship on its arrival in the Port of Aqaba to offer the seafarers support but found that the ship was empty. The union then contacted the ship agency in Jordan and eventually, after pressing them hard, achieved a settlement of US$100,000 for the seafarers.

* Due to preparations for the ITF’s 41st Congress in August 2006, the 4th Port Industry Update has been delayed until September 2006 and is an extended issue.

Section home:
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Other pages for Dockers:
About This Section | Section Committee | Kenji Yasuda

Other pages for Issue 4, September 2006:
Issue 4, page 2 | Issue 4, page 3 | Issue 4, Page 4 | Issue 4, page 5

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