On 20 and 21 September the delegations of USB port workers from the ports of Civitavecchia, Genoa, Livorno and Trieste met in Livorno, together with the national representatives of Private Labor.
The two days was, first of all, an opportunity to consolidate the work of analysis and study. Essential elements for building a trade union claim process. Professor Luciano Vasapollo illustrated the international and national scenario and the reasons that led ports, including Italian ones, to become an essential hub of the world logistics chain and one of the areas of greatest accumulation of profits, which increased during the pandemic.
A context where the attempt to exploit and accumulate profit by the counterparties will develop stronger but where the possibility of reaction and demand on the part of the workers is also stronger. Ports and logistics are central to the indispensable resumption of the conflictual initiative for wages, rights and against war, also with respect to the phase of political and social evolution in the country.
They were elected to form the National Working Group representing the Ports Coordination, which will work alongside the national representatives José Nivoi and Giovanni Ceraolo:
Mauro Panunzi for Civitavecchia
Pietro Bresadola and Giacomo Santoro for Genoa
Massimo Mazza and Alessio Biondi for Livorno
Massimiliano Generutti for Trieste.
The Working Group will coordinate for the development of a platform for port workers that is built on the following thematic pillars:
- The wage issue and the need for sharp increases in the face of rising inflation and the cost of living;
- The employment issue, the personnel of the ports and the reduction of working hours with the same salary;
- Public ports, definition of single models for all Italian ports, limitation of shipowners’ powers, role of port authorities;
- Health and safety, shifts, strenuous work, training;
- National and second level bargaining, trade union democracy and national representation and in individual ports.
The Working Group will convene a national assembly of port workers to be held within the first days of December which will be open to contributions from all Italian ports.
The trade unionists of the National Working Group will also be involved in discussions with other groups in the logistics and industry sectors to coordinate and organize themselves throughout the entire value chain.
On behalf of all the Ports and Seafarers Coordination, we express all the support and solidarity to the struggles of the British dockers underway in the ports of Felixstowe and Liverpool.
Sea & USB ports coordination
