Following a special meeting in Paris October 28 to discuss the European Commission’s new propsals for a directive on market access to port services the International Dockworkers Council (IDC), declares to the public:
1. - That the process in which this new Directive has been drawn up contravenes the basic rights of workers to take part in decisions that affect them. No trade union organisation has been officially consulted on the content of a Directive that will affect thousands of workers throughout the continent.
IDC, an organisation that represents dockworkers in 10 European states and with a worldwide membership of over 60 000, has been systematically ignored by the European Commission. The Directive is the result of a bogus process, conceived by private interests and not remotely concerned with the needs of European citizens. The long-term aims of the European Union cannot be achieved if the Commission turns its back on social dialogue.
2. - The European Transport Commissioner, Loyola de Palacio, has pushed through the Directive proposals less than 15 days before leaving her post. Such is her rush that by the beginning of November, her proposals have still to be translated into the various languages of the Union. In November 2003, one year ago, the European Parliament rejected a Directive designed along similar lines to the current one. This new project seems to be more an egoistical attempt to ridicule the sovereign decision of the Strasbourg Parliament than an honest attempt at structuring the European dock industry. The current crisis of José Manuel Durao Barroso’s European Commission stems directly from the lack of dialogue with the European Parliament; therefore, the imposition in extremis of the new Directive by Loyola de Palacio makes no sense at all and without doubt, is doomed to fail. The resources of the European Commission should certainly not be wasted merely to satisfy the private obsessions of retiring politicians or the interests of large ship-owners.
3. - The real aim of this Directive is not the “liberalisation of dock services”, but instead, the elimination of the European dockworkers’ unions. The IDC categorically rejects “self-handling”, a practice that allows the large ship-owners to replace professional dockworkers with personnel unconnected to the docks or even with ships’ crews themselves. No European Directive would permit a carpenter to work in an operating theatre; similarly, it would be illogical to suggest that the loading and unloading of ships could be carried out by personnel not qualified for the work. The ways in which the Directive proposes that the workers become “qualified” are completely unacceptable and could easily result in a spiral of work accidents and inferior service. Dock work should be carried out by professional dockworkers, the only group who can guarantee the quality of service that the industry deserves. The IDC has always believed that the training of dockworkers and stable employment policies are essential factors in order to achieve the economic growth of our nations. An attempt aimed at eliminating professional dockworkers is far from being the best way of building a truly competitive Europe.
