Dock workers from around Europe rallied in January 2006 against the Proposal for a Directive on Market Access to Port Services, which was to liberalise port services in the European Union. Finnish dockers and other dock workers belonging to the Finnish Transport Workers' Union (Auto- ja Kuljetusalan Työntekijäliitto, AKT) joined these protests by holding an eight-hour strike at all the cargo ports in the country on 11 January. AKT argued that the strike was intended to defend dockers’ jobs as the directive was to break their monopoly over the loading and unloading of ships. It also insisted that the liberalisation was to lead to the erosion of safety standards at ports if non-qualified workers would be allowed to perform the dockers’ tasks.
In January 2006, Finnish dock workers organised into AKT joined their colleagues from around Europe to oppose the proposed EU directive on Ports Services, which was ultimately blocked by the European Parliament. To this end, AKT stopped work at all ports in the country for eight hours on 11 January, which employers’ central organisation EK insisted was an irresponsible use of the freedom to hold political strikes.
Dock workers from around Europe rallied in January 2006 against the Proposal for a Directive on Market Access to Port Services, which was to liberalise port services in the European Union. Finnish dockers and other dock workers belonging to the Finnish Transport Workers' Union (Auto- ja Kuljetusalan Työntekijäliitto, AKT) joined these protests by holding an eight-hour strike at all the cargo ports in the country on 11 January. AKT argued that the strike was intended to defend dockers’ jobs as the directive was to break their monopoly over the loading and unloading of ships. It also insisted that the liberalisation was to lead to the erosion of safety standards at ports if non-qualified workers would be allowed to perform the dockers’ tasks.
Several member companies of the contracting party of AKT, the Finnish Port Operators Association (Satamaoperaattorit), also voiced their opposition to the directive proposal. Their main concern was the operating licences system that would have been imposed upon them under the proposal. Despite the shared opposition to the directive, the employers saw the workers’ means of resistance as totally unacceptable. The Confederation of Finnish Industries (Elinkeinoelämän keskusliitto, EK), the employers’ central organisation to which Satamaoperaattorit is affiliated, insisted that the port operators had nothing to do with the directive and it was thus misplaced from AKT to direct its opposition at them by holding the strike. EK was also of the opinion that AKT’s work stoppage was a demonstration of how the freedom of unions to hold political strikes is in irresponsible hands a tool that severely endangers the functioning of society.
European dock workers’ protests culminated in a demonstration of an estimated 6,000 dockers in Strasbourg, France on 16 January. Members of AKT too were present. Two days later the European Parliament blocked the ports directive by 532 votes to 120.
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Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2006), AKT joins forces against ports directive, article.
