Delegates from France and Portugal attend the 30th Coordinadora Assembly
Over 250 Spanish dockworkers met in Valencia on 19 and 20 October as part of the 30th Coordinadora Assembly. The meeting, also attended by delegations from Portugal and France, served to make clear the dockworkers’ rejection of the new European Directive proposed in extremis by the Commissioner Loyola de Palacia, who stands down on 1 November.
The workers denounced the way this new Directive has been formulated, as at no time have they been consulted on its content, and they re-emphasised the fact that the future of the sector in Europe is inconceivable without the figure of professional stevedore. It is precisely this figure that was attacked by the first Directive presented by Loyola de Palacio in November 2003, a Directive that was rejected without qualification by the European Parliament.
Now, if the worst predictions are fulfilled, the new Directive will once again undermine the figure of professional stevedore, attempting to strengthen concepts such as “self-assistance”, a legal formula that permits shipowners to do without stevedores and replace them with other non-specialised personnel or even the ships’ crews themselves. This outrageous proposal has even been questioned by business sectors themselves, as was reiterated by the President of the Spanish Employers’ Organisation, Ŕngel Pérez.
Turning to internal matters, the stevedores announced their readiness to start negotiations leading to the signing of a new Framework Agreement with employers and Government. All the delegates who spoke expressed their conviction that the figure of the professional stevedore would gain recognition in both Europe and Spain.
The presence of dockworkers from Portugal and France gave the meeting a European dimension, at precisely the same time as the International Dockworkers Council has expressed its willingness to once again oppose the implementation of this European Commission Directive. The Coordinating Assembly also agreed to offer the IDC the port of Barcelona as the site for its next General Assembly, which will probably be held in February 2005.
