POC Campaign

POC Campaign

http://www.itfglobal.org/dockers/POC.cfm

“Multi-national Global Network Terminals own 50% of cargo terminals worldwide. If we do not organise these strategic hubs, we have no chance of organising the whole supply chain. And this should be our ultimate goal.”

Paddy Crumlin, President ITF and Chair of ITF Dockers’ Section

A port of convenience is a port or terminal where health and safety standards or working conditions are below what’s considered acceptable by ITF and its affiliated unions.

Multi-national companies operate global supply chains and are often focused on profit margins and increasing their share of the market. To get the best results some companies are casualising labour and allowing safety standards to fall. Some global companies are opting to use ports where labour is cheaper and where they don’t have to observe H&S standards or recognise organised trade unions. This campaign aims to ensure that standards acceptable to ITF dockers’ unions apply in ports and terminals around the world. The ITF organises to combat the excesses of globalisation and stop the exploitation of transport workers worldwide.

In recognition of continuing employer and government threats to dockers’ jobs, to organised labour and to working conditions, ITF unions voted formally (1) to launch the POC campaign at the ITF’s 41st Congress in Durban, South Africa in 2006. The ITF recognises that we need to organise globally, campaign globally and support each other globally to challenge the multi-nationals. Ports are a huge part of this global challenge because they’re key to organising the supply chain.

The campaign focuses on six main themes:

Competition

Privatisation

Casualisation

Trade union rights

Occupational health and safety

Job security

Within the POC work programme, there is a specific campaign targeted at the activities of the four global network terminal operators (GNTs). Unions across the world have committed to back the GNT campaign (2). We know that these giants operate in almost half the world’s ports and are growing. With their expansion we’re concerned that labour and safety standards may be driven down in a race to the bottom. The GNT campaign is there to unite workers in GNT and other ports to challenge any negative results of global capital. GNTs have the potential to affect workers in all ports.  They have the ability to undermine terms and conditions in public ports by setting up nearby and cutting wages and standards to outprice organised terminals.  One of our aims is to push for ITF dialogue with the terminal operators to sign up for global framework agreements. These are umbrella agreements with employers that set labour standards in their operations around the world.

Follow this link (3) and this link (PDF) (4) for more on global framework agreements.

(1)   Resolution 27: Ports of Convenience and Global Network Terminal Campaigns

The 41st Congress of the ITF, meeting in Durban from 2-9 August 2006:

1.    NOTES the Mobilising Solidarity programme of the 39th Congress and the Globalising Solidarity programme of the 40th Congress.

2.    NOTES the continuing offensive against dockworkers rights and the effective unionisation within the sector including through the European Directive Process, the continuing introduction of anti-labour legislation worldwide and in particular legislation designed to limit effective organisation of dockworkers and the ability of dockworkers to take industrial action.

3.    NOTES too the importance of an effectively organised Dockers’ Section in delivering the FOC campaign.

4.    NOTES too the reliance of the SSD, Seafarers’ Section and Dockers’ Section on the Welfare Fund and successfully applying ITF Agreements to the worldwide FOC fleet.

5.    NOTES too the connection between the anti-dockworkers legislation and international attacks and the involvement of dockworkers in promoting the effectiveness of the FOC campaign.

6.    NOTES Dockers’ Section resolutions and Fair Practices Committee resolutions on the need to develop successful campaigns in defence of dockworkers’ rights including through the POC and GNT campaigns.

7.    NOTES that the key issues to emerge from the POC Regional Strategy Seminars that require a coordinated trade union response are:

•    Casualisation

•    Competition

•    Global Network Terminal Operators (GNTs)

•    Trade Union Rights

and that an important strategy for dealing with POCs and GNTs is to negotiate and sign Global Framework Agreements (GFA) with these companies to ensure acceptable labour standards in all their operations around the world.

8.    NOTES that the Asia Pacific Region, drawing on a model developed by the Maritime Union of Australia has already commenced work on a database of information as a campaigning tool for affiliates involved in the POC/GNT campaign and requests the Dockers’ Section to ensure the database is adequately resourced and rolled out globally within six months.

9.    REAFFIRMS the high priority of the POC and GNT campaigns and their implementation, calls on the ITF and Executive Board to ensure that proper resources are allocated to the rolling out of the campaign including education, a suitable database for information, written material and other organisational work directly linked to the campaigns.  The success of the campaigns should be reviewed regularly by both the FPC and Executive Board with a view to ensuring that sufficient resources are directed so that the campaigns can succeed.

10.    CALLS for the establishment of a Coordinating Committee from the ITF, ITF Dockers’ Section and key affiliates to ensure the campaigns are properly and effectively constructed.  This Committee should be properly resourced.

(2) http://www.itfglobal.org/dockers/gnt.cfm

(3) http://www.itfglobal.org/transport-international/ti25-ports.cfm

(4) http://www.itfglobal.org/files/extranet/-1/27525/TI41_GNT_English.pdf