Unite campaign escalates as first vessel calls at London Gateway

Unite campaign escalates as first vessel calls at London Gateway

http://www.itfglobal.org/news-online/index.cfm/newsdetail/9773

9 November 2013

European dockers’ unions are showing support for ITF affiliate Unite, as they continue their campaign for trade union rights at London Gateway, which has officially opened for business this week.

The first vessel, MOL Caledon, docked at the new DPW operated terminal on Wednesday night (5 November) to be met by a demonstration.  A Unite delegation went on to meet the vessel at its next port of call in Rotterdam, where further actions were staged with the backing of the local union, FNV Bondgenoten.

On Tuesday, 30 representatives from EU dockers’ unions affiliated to the ETF (European Transport Workers’ Union) the European arm of the ITF,  and the International Dockworkers’ Council, met at the Unite offices in London and released a statement pledging support.

The statement reads: “The meeting agreed that the behaviour exhibited by DP World at London Gateway was symptomatic of a wider attack on trade unions in the European ports sector. The meeting resolved to coordinate support for UNITE the Union by all lawful means to achieve its legitimate demands for union recognition at London Gateway and to ensure that DPW London Gateway re-commits to the process of negotiation with UNITE to allow a timetable to be developed jointly which covers union access and company neutrality.”

Practical support from other European unions has also been secured with various actions expected over the coming weeks at ports receiving vessels from London Gateway.

Update:

Check out pictures from Rotterdam showing the arrival of the MOL Caledon on our Flickr subset http://www.flickr.com/photos/itf/sets/72157637549624585/  

You can also watch an interview with one of the Unite delegates and Nick Stam, National Secretary of FNV Ports, on our Youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBxAbiT2e3A&feature=youtu.be

Find out more about the Unite 4 Gateway campaign by liking their Facebook page - and stay up to date with new developments. https://www.facebook.com/Unite4Gateway?fref=ts

Transport unions call for new thinking from international labour movement

http://www.itfglobal.org/news-online/index.cfm/newsdetail/9801

14 November 2013

 

A first-of-its-kind supply chain and logistics symposium closed thisweek at the ITF’s London headquarters with a strong call for new thinking from the global labour movement and a focus on the ‘real employer’.

Delegates organising in strategic locations heard from a panel of logistics industry specialists and academics during two days of debate, analysis and workshops. Together they examined the state of the industry, the impact on labour of buyer-driven or producer-driven supply chains, and national and global union responses to the logistics revolution.

Transport firms are seldom the most powerful actors in supply chains, the experts stated. Now it is the big manufacturers, like Boeing, and the big retailers, like Walmart or Ikea, who drive the agenda, the meeting heard. Examples of transport worker involvement in multiple supply chains included: truck drivers in Australia, where big retailers are the lead firms; dock workers in Durban, South Africa involved in supply chains for German car manufacturers(producer-driven); and also the fresh fruit supply chains for UK supermarkets (buyer-driven).

Transport unions hold strategic positions within such supply chains, and by analysing where they sit in relation to the lead-firms and joining forces, they can challenge them directly, the meeting agreed.

ITF acting general secretary Steve Cotton affirmed the ITF’s commitment for a cross-sectoral approach to its work, while guest speaker Sharan Burrow, the ITUC’s general secretary, highlighted the need for unions worldwide to face the challenges of this rapidly developing industry head-on. Global union federations and the ITUC (International Trade Union Confederation) are ready to work closer, she stressed.

The meeting concluded with a strong call to work in new ways so that a re-focused labour movement can face the challenges and take advantage of supply chain developments.

Ingo Marowsky, global head of the ITF's newly created supply chain and logistics organising projects team, said: “Our movement is gearing up and getting ready. Building relationships between our affiliates from the different transport sectors and indeed with unions in other sectors at national and international level is vital if we’re to strengthen worker power along supply chains. Ultimately we want to deliver a strong message to the global players in this arena, who we know are not always transport employers. That message is: ‘don't mess with us’.”

For more about the meeting see Specialists in organising come together http://www.itfglobal.org/news-online/index.cfm/newsdetail/4874  at ITF and the ITF global Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ITFglobal

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