Mobilisation of Mediterranean ports in defence of their French colleagues
Without prior warning. The dockworkers of Sète, 120 km west of Marseilles, were surprised by the announcement of a collective dismissal that would affect 23 of the 46 workers in the port. The companies operating in Sète are using the need to “cut costs” to justify this measure. To achieve their aims, the employers are diverting ships to nearby ports, such as Barcelona, Fos, Marseilles and Palamós. Dockworkers in all these ports have refused to unload the goods, in a clear gesture of support for their colleagues in Sète.
These companies’ strategy of diverting ships is not new. By diverting ships from Sète, they are attempting to substantiate claims that “there isn’t enough work for everyone”. This strategy does not take the dockworkers’ capacity of reaction into account. Workers have not agreed to work with diverted ships in any of the ports that have received ships from Sète, in a gesture of solidarity with their French colleagues. Sète has not only constantly increased its volume of traffic in recent years, but is also considered “a port of national interest” by the French government. This port, if the employers succeed in imposing their plan, will have barely 20 workers. Which is ridiculous.
The International Dockworkers Council (IDC) considers this decision to be unacceptable, as it violates the employment rights of French dockworkers with impunity. “Cutting costs” cannot be done only at the expense of the dockworkers, who in fact ensure business profits by their work. The objective of replacing professional workers with poorly qualified - and obviously, lower paid - staff may be the ulterior motive. The Sète dockworkers, who are IDC members, know that they can count on their colleagues for solidarity, especially in the Mediterranean ports. In the main ports of the Gulf of Lyons and the Mediterranean, such as Genoa, Savona, Marseilles, Barcelona, Tarragona and Valencia, the presence of the IDC is constant. If the companies involved in Mediterranean routes such as Delom Maritime, Sogema and Biron & Cie. think that the collective dismissal in Sète will be passively accepted, they are mistaken.
