Dockers Fight Financial Woes

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The ITF Dockers' Section is working hard to minimise the impact of the financial crisis, says Frank Leys

Dockers have been hard hit by the global economic crisis. This is why the ITF and its affiliates have been working hard to engage with some of the key employers and providing help to manage the effects of the downturn.

Dockers’ unions have recognised the importance of responding to the global network terminals (GNTs), particularly the largest companies, which hold large portfolios of terminals distributed around the world.

GNTs have a lot of influence over the container transport trade. Their power is expected to increase in coming years as they expand their international networks by taking over existing terminals and building new terminals in greenfield sites.

The top four companies, Hutchison Port Holdings, APM Terminals, PSA International and Dubai Ports World, between them handled 224.3 million TEUs in 2007, according to Drewry Shipping Consultants. This is the equivalent of 45.1 per cent of the world container port throughput.

Due to their size and power, the decisions taken by these companies have a significant impact on dockworkers’ jobs around the world, whether GNTs are seeking new investment opportunities through bidding for concessions in a privatisation process or pursuing business strategies to make themselves more competitive and profitable.

Unions do have opportunities to engage with these employers. The GNTs have shown that where they are confronted with established practices of social dialogue and competent and strong unions they will respect the rules and engage with the unions.

But it is hard to have a constructive dialogue in areas where GNTs are not required to do so by law or by the position of the trade union as a respected social player.

When the ITF can build a solid relation of trust and respect between itself and the GNTs that has a positive outcome for both parties which can lead to a partnership, this can facilitate contacts at a local level. The ITF does not want to step into the place of national unions on the ground. The ITF is there to facilitate and assist its affiliates to develop a constructive relationship with their employers.

Another important aspect is that the ports are integrated in the supply chain. The ITF, which is a cross sectoral organisation, having affiliates in all sectors of the industry, can offer a way to cooperate with other unions in the industry, such as in road, rail and warehousing.

So far, discussions have been taking place with GNTs on:

respect for trade union rights,
creating safe working places by promoting best practice in health and safety,
developing good industrial relations,
managing the impact of economic downturns together.

We are hopeful that these discussions will have concrete results to protect jobs and working conditions for dockers.

Frank Leys is secretary of the ITF Dockers’ Section.

"How we protected workers' rights at the Cochin container terminal"

PM Mohammed Haneef, of the Cochin Port Staff Association, explains how the union was able to negotiate with Dubai Port World, one of the four big global network terminals, to protect workers' jobs and conditions.

Workers at the Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal were worried when the Indian government handed over the terminal to India Gateway Terminal (IGTPL), the Indian arm of Dubai Port World. The transfer was part of a public private partnership under a BOT (build, operate, transfer) license agreement.

The existing infrastructure and employees, operated by Cochin Port Trust, would be transferred. In return, the company would create a new international container trans-shipment terminal site – India’s first – once the existing terminal was handling 400,000 TEUs or within a period of three years. (The terminal is due to be completed in November 2009.)

Workers and their unions were worried that jobs would be lost when the new operator took over the terminal.

Organising for solidarity

There were eight unions operating at Cochin Port Trust during this period. I organised all of them, appraised the situation and finally decided to organise legal agitation, with the solidarity support of all trade unions.

The principal employer of the workers was Cochin Port Trust. So we demanded a tripartite settlement between IGTPL, Cochin Port Trust and the unions operating at Cochin Port Trust.

We served a strike notice to the regional labour commissioner (central) and initiated the strike. The commissioner intervened, started negotiations and after a series of discussions a settlement was reached in March 2005.

The settlement promised a deputation of all port workers from the terminal to the new company, IGTPL, protecting their wages, promotion and rights on a par with their counterparts working in other areas of Cochin Port Trust.

The settlement also said that IGTPL will provide employment to the deputed port workers, according to their suitability and requirement when the operations shift to the new site at Vallarpadam. These employees will cease to be employed by the port trust and the trust will discharge all benefits including pensions, as per the rules at Cochin port. The work of all private workers, who were doing lashing and unlashing under various stevedores, has also been protected through this settlement.

Improving industrial relations

The new operators took over in April 2005. The application of the settlement on various issues posed problems. At this point my union was able to effectively interact with them, with the support of port management. When the company tried to flout the settlement, through decent interaction we were able to overcome the situation. Otherwise the issue was dealt with by trade union strength

and solidarity. At present, we have good industrial relations with IGTPL.

The agreement is a mandatory settlement under Indian labour law, rather than a collective bargaining agreement. It is applicable to the existing 352 permanent port workers employed by Cochin Port Trust, as well as the private contract workers at the time of transfer to Dubai Port World.

The pressure mounted on the port and IGTPL management, through various industrial actions, achieved a good settlement protecting workers’ rights. Solidarity among the dockers of the Cochin port has been strengthened thanks to the efforts of the unions. This has paved the way to settle various other issues such as a new incentive scheme and a bonus settlement at national level.

The settlement was really the result of solidarity among trade unions and the effective tackling of issues without a total stoppage.

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Issue 37 - October 2009

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