Port liberalisation defeated
WORKERS, FEB 2006 ISSUE
The European Parliament has rejected the European Commission's controversial plans to liberalise port services, after thousands of dock workers across Europe went on strike on 11 January to protest against the proposals. Some 40,000 people were involved in the strike across 12 countries, including 4,500 port workers in Germany. Hamburg saw the largest strike when between 2,000 and 3,000 workers took part in the 24-hour protest.
This is the second time that the European Commission has brought forward legislation to liberalise port services and the second time that the plans have been forcefully rejected. The vote is a victory for the dock workers, thousands of whom protested on the streets of Strasbourg earlier.
The proposed legislation was first put forward by the Commission in 2001 but has come under fierce criticism from trade unions who warn that any move to liberalise cargo handling will lower safety standards and lead to massive job cuts. The legislation was initially rejected by MEPs in November 2003 but then the Commission returned with an amended version, which scraped through a European Parliament committee by 24-23 votes but was defeated when it came to the full Parliament.