They are holding out. The dockworkers of Buenos Aires refuse to submit to the British multinational P&O Ports, which controls the port’s main terminals. At 12. 00 tomorrow, workers will block the entrance to these terminals for 24 hours in order to demand the reinstatement of Dardo Viani and the end of all harassment of trade union representatives.
The labour conflict in the port of Buenos Aires has many facets: firstly, the multinational P&O Ports has succeeded in gaining control of the port’s main terminals (TPA-Terminales Portuarias Argentinas, and TRP-Terminales del Río de la Plata), through which 80% of containers pass. According to the trade union SUTAP, this situation is a breach of the free competition that Argentinean law should defend. Furthermore, workers have been constantly harassed by P&O. This company does not only refuse to recognise SUTAP’s capacity to negotiate agreements, but has also dismissed one of its representatives, Dardo Viani. To make matters worse, the Human Resources manager of P&O is Siro de Martini, a man who was a judge during the brutal dictatorship that devastated Argentina between 1977 and 1983.
The blockade of 26 November, from 12. 00 onwards, is not the first organised by SUTAP at the P&O terminals. The workers have the support of leading left-wing members of parliament and the undisputed solidarity of the International Dockworkers Council (IDC), an organisation with over 60, 000 dockworker members around the world. For the IDC, the situation in Argentina is unsustainable. As such, it offers its full support to its Argentinean colleagues and once again, reaffirms its desire for P&O Ports to reconsider and establish a serious and rational dialogue with the trade union SUTAP. In this matter, the role of the Argentinean government - which has so far remained impassive - is also crucial. The passiveness of the General Ports Administration (AGP) throughout this conflict has been unforgivable and has not contributed to a negotiated solution, which from the IDC’s point of view is perfectly feasible.
