Artigo Cargo Julho 2010

Flexibility at Port Workforce

The ESPO (European Sea Ports Organisation) has recently published with the support
of ITMMA (Institute of Transport and Maritime Managemente Antwerp), University of
Antwerp a very important text on the port workforce in Europe as a key element of
reform and competitiveness of ports , available at the organization.

One of the key issues it addresses is the flexibility of labor as an essential tool for
European ports more competitive by showing the diverse state in which they are the
ports and countries on this matter.

The increasing complexity of the relationship between demand and supply in the ports
imply the need for greater flexibility of port labor in its various forms, which can be
encouraged with appropriate bonus:

a) Flexibility of working hours - to move from passive flexibility with schedules taxes
according to law, to an active flexibility giving more initiative to employees and
employers;

b) Flexibility in the amount of workers - the possibility of adapting the workforce needs
of the port, with the creation of pools of dock workers negotiated and the possibility of
recourse to temporary employment agencies in case of need;

c) Flexibility of tasks and functions - bet on multi-skills in cross-training and multi-

functionality of the port work, facilitating mobility between functions and tasks and
between terminals, avoiding lack of workers on a task when there is excess in another;

d) Flexibility in shifts and teams - Ability to affect the employee to the team where it is
most needed, on changes of elements between teams and ships in the same turn, change
the composition and size of the teams within the legal limits and related human
productivity;

It has to be noted that greater productivity and flexibility of workmanship port must be
accompanied by higher wages, as defined in the Danish model of flexicurity. When
there are high wages in a port, but the productivity and flexibility are reduced, the port
faces a serious competitive disadvantage.

Apart from the costs of stevedoring, many are the costs of the inefficiencies of
manpower in certain ports port:
a) shortage of workers leading to peaks in the waiting costs of ships or lower yields;

b) lack of training and damage caused to the loads that cause costs of productivity or
reputation of the port;

c) isolated or prolonged strikes, which cause high costs for ports and for the economy;

d) high rate of accidents due to lack of training or fatigue;

e) absenteeism of employees already assigned to duties;

f) failure in communication between the vessel and the stevedoring company or

equipment failure.

Large number of European ports require that only workers registered to work on the
docks, by imposition of the state, the Port Authority or agreements between companies
and unions. The reform of this issue usually involves a great deal of opposition from
trade unions, which can be considered a limitation on freedom of movement for workers
within the EU itself.

In some ports, port is limited to loading and unloading ships in the port area, while in
others it also includes the logistics operations processed on the ground after parking and
unloading of cargo or for shipment. Antwerp was created a special category of port
workers with lower salary, to carry out logistical operations.

A variety of classification of port workers can be observed in European ports, but

generally involves three elements:

a) permanent employees with an employment contract with stevedoring companies;

b) workers employed by registered (s) "pool (s)" port, used by companies as a primary
source of human resources;

c) temporary workers who receive a minimum remuneration to be waiting for the peaks.

The schemes to reduce the precariousness of manpower port differ in two ways:

a) the power of trade unions "in fact" to choose and control the allocation of work to
port workers;

b) and the sources and income levels of workers who are registered without working out
the peaks.

In some cases, workers in a period without work receive income from the pool or the
companies directly, others receive from the state in part. The funding of this aspect of
the "pool" of ports may come from stevedoring companies, the state or even the port
authorities.

Most of the reforms implemented in the ports of European countries led to little change
in existing arrangements in pools, but in some cases there have been significant
changes, particularly the workers came to be hired directly by the companies operating
terminals, rather be via the pool. For example, in Germany and Holland companies can
contract directly with the owner of the labor market, but additional temporary work has
to come from the pool, although some of these pools have been privatized. There is a
tendency to create "pools" open and independent, even more than one per port, with
support in the latter case of general temporary employment agencies.

The ESPO has asked the European Commission to clarify this issue with the approval of
the "suppliers of port services should have complete freedom to hire qualified personnel
who understand and employ it in the conditions required by the service if they applied
the rules of safety and social ".

Moreover, there is a trend in European ports for continuous work with individual stops
(not legal), timetable commencing flexible shifts with variable time, new patterns of
overtime, night shifts and work on weekend .

Another issue is the professional categories, in addition to the division between

permanent and nonpermanent employees, more closely related to the tasks and
functions, specialization by type of cargo, skills and training, how they were recruited,
career plans or professional training. Some systems give special importance to
professional categories, with schemes of mobility between categories, others are based
more on qualifications for employment to the most appropriate type of work.

In England, the abolition of the NDLS (National Dock Labour Scheme) in 1989, was
eliminated the previous legislation and undermined the unions, leaving them to be able
to strike that is not due to disputes with the stevedoring companies, otherwise the goods
personal can be hijacked in court. Many workers accepted the generous compensation to
reduce the herd, and the British port industry was revitalized, according to the ESPO.
Most companies hire anyone for effective and has the general temporary employment
agencies to meet the peaks.

Vítor Caldeirinha