Port Industry Update Issue 7, September 2007

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7. EUROPE

ETF ENSURES THAT EUROPEAN DOCKERS HAVE THEIR SAY ON THE FUTURE OF EUROPEAN PORT POLICY: Affiliates will be aware that over the past few years, hard campaigning by the European Transport Federation, ITF and European dockers’ affiliates has been instrumental in defeating the European Commission’s attempts to open up access to the port services market through successive ‘packages’ of European legislation. While the ‘Ports Packages’ have been defeated, the discussion on the future of the port sector in Europe still continues. As part of this process, in mid-July, the ETF submitted its contribution to the European Commission’s consultation round on a future Port Policy for the European Union. The ETF submission voices European dockers’ concerns over a number of issues:

Policy Process. The ETF highlights the importance of port labour to the success of the sector. European dockers refuse to be labelled as “bottlenecks”, a term that has been used in Commission documentation in relation to port labour relations. The ETF also warns of the need for an integrated set of measures that take due account of national and regional port systems’ specificities rather than a one size fits all approach;
Policy Context. The ETF draws attention to stakeholders’ contradictions emerging around globalisation and liberalisation, market competition and transport sustainability, and states that port differences across Europe and the involvement of sectoral Social Partners at the local and national level should pivot around an EU Policy for the port sector.

The ETF welcomes the considerable progress that has been made towards the establishment of a Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for Ports at the EU level, which would be the most appropriate venue for discussion and policy development in areas such as training and professional qualifications, health and safety, and other employment-related issues.
Community Action. The ETF argues that market access should be clarified through the establishment of clear guidelines to provide competition ‘for’ the market and incorporating more transparency. The market investor and subsidiarity principles, along with the consideration of regional specificities, should be key elements of the future policy.

At the same time, sustainable development and a strategy to improve health and safety at workplace should be mainstreamed across all policy areas.

The ETF supports the simplification of the administrative procedures and the establishment of a “Common European Maritime Space”.

The public image of ports should also be promoted by Community action.
Short Sea Shipping (SSS) and Local Action. As debates over SSS and Motorways of the Sea (MoS) closely involve labour-related issues, the ETF highlights that employment arrangements are specific to each port, as they reflect agreements reached by the Social Partners through a democratic process of dialogue and collective bargaining. Any type of labour organisation unilaterally imposed through Community action will be rejected by European dockers.

Finally, the ETF would like to see the conclusions of the consultation round channelled into the outcomes of the wider debate launched by the European Commission’s Green Paper on the future Maritime Policy for the European Union.

The full contribution of the ETF is available at: http://www.itfglobal.org/files/seealsodocs/4714/FINAL ETF port policy July 2007.pdf

EUROPEAN SEA AND INLAND PORTS TO COOPERATE: Fairplay reported in May that the European Sea Ports Organisation and the European Federation of Inland Ports have established a Platform of European Sea and Inland Ports. Its aim is to strengthen cooperation between the two organisations and their collective influence on the European Commission. Each organisation will keep its identify but will adopt common positions where appropriate.

BALTIC PORTS SET FOR MAJOR GROWTH: The Baltic Ports Organisation has forecast that container traffic in the Baltic Sea region will grow by 222% until 2015 according to Lloyds List. Ports in Poland, Finland, the Baltic States and Russia (which is expected to see the highest increase), is growing impressively. A total of 7.1m teu is now forecast for 2010 and by 2015, this figure is expected to rise to 11.6m teu. There is the prospect that more container terminals will be established along the Baltic Sea coast in coming years.

CUXHAVEN – ONE TO WATCH: According to Fairplay, Cuxhaven on Germany’s North Sea coast is reported to be planning an ambitious expansion programme. Construction of a new berth is underway, with a further three to follow assuming planning permission is obtained. The new berth will handle ro-ro and non-containerised general cargoes. However, the second phase is intended provide deep-sea container services. The terminal operator behind the extension of the port’s capacity, Rhenus CuxPort, is confident that it will handle 1m teu in 10 years’ time. The port is expected to attract cargo overspill from Hamburg. Rhenus CuxPort apparently does not see the Cuxhaven expansion as intensifying competition between established terminals but that Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Wilhelmshaven will be its partners in an effort to overcome capacity problems. Cuxhaven expects to handle 85,000teu this year and it planned entry into the deepsea container market is supported by the Hamburg terminal operator HHLA, which holds a 25.1% share in Cuxport. The German ports-to-logistics group Rhenus controls 74.9%.

Port Industry Update is available in a number of languages: http://www.itfglobal.org/ports/bulletin.cfm

PIU contact: Sharon James, Dockers’ Assistant Secretary (james_sharon@itf.org.uk; tel: +44 2079409310; fax: +44 2079409275)

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