European affiliates of the International Dockworkers Council (IDC) will strike for 24 hours next Tuesday (6 Nov) against the EU Directive on market access to port services, which was endorsed by a European Parliament committee on 10 Oct.
The IDC-affiliated unions intending to strike are:
The strike decision follows a somewhat unexpected move by the European Parliament’s Committee for Regional Policiy, Transport and Tourism to back the European Commission’s controversial proposals for a directive on market access to port services - the so called “Ports Package”.
The Committee met on 10 Oct. but confusing information appeared on the European Parliament web site and the IDC only managed to clarify the results a week later.
Dockers watching the European deliberations were suprised as the left-wing block of deputies had recently declared their opposition to the proposals and their intent to vote with the right-wing rapporteur, Georg Jarzembowski, who had previously proposed an alternative.
“The shipping companies and ship owners must have had some very powerful last-minute lobbying arguments left for them to be able to fob everyone off with such a big crock of shit!,” as Peter Shaw of the Swedish Dockworkers Union put it.
The IDC had previously decided in Marseilles to take industrial action if the Committee endorsed the Ports Package. The Swedish Dockworkers Union, the Fédération Nationale de Ports et Docks CGT (France) and the Coordinadora (Spain) took the initiative to call for a 24 hour strike.
contact: IDC Coordination Office · Bureau de coordination · Oficina de coordinación
Calle del Mar,97 · 08003 Barcelona
Tel. : +34 93 225 25 28
e-mail: coordination@idcdockworkers.org
