During the Social Dialogue for Ports meeting held today in Brussels, the employees’ delegations has decided to leave in reaction to national developments in Spain. The Spanish cabinet plans to liberalise the hiring of port labour.
The employers’ delegations regrets this decision [ds_preview]and wishes to remind that the competence of the social partners involved in the Social Dialogue for ports is a European one, European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) reported.
Spanish port companies have to recruit unionized personnel. The European Court of Justice already fined the Spanish government in 2016 for failing to reform dock labour legislation and open the market to free hiring.
The employers’ delegations says it remains committed to the social dialogue process at European level and believe it is the relevant forum for addressing issues outlined above. For this reason, the employers’ representatives decided to resume today’s meeting and to proceed with the agenda.
The next social dialogue meeting of employers and employees will be on 29 June.
The European social dialogue on ports was established in June 2013 by port employers and employees to identify challenges faced by the sector, improve health and safety conditions and raise awareness about the essential contribution of port stakeholders to the EU economy and its growth.
No less than 2.2 Million ships have called EU Ports in 2012. More than 300.000 workers are directly employed by port employers who are committed to ensuring a high level of efficiency, health and safety.
Since 2013, the social partners have been working on issues that fall within the competence of the Social Dialogue for Ports (i.e. training and qualifications, attractiveness to young workers, health and safety as well as promotion of female employment). Employers’ representatives are very much attached to the European dimension of the ongoing European Social Dialogue for ports because it allows constructive discussions that will help the sector to continue to play its vital role for the EU.
