Since October 2017, MTBS and Dynamar have been involved in a co-funded EU study ‘The changing face of ports: socio-economic impact of market-based and technological developments on EU ports’, for the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO), Federation of European Private Port Operators and Terminals (Feport), and International Dockworkers Council (IDC).
Over the last decades, significant changes have occurred in the maritime transport sector. Ever increasing ship sizes, as one of the major developments, brings along consequences for cargo-handling operations in terms of the need for technological innovation, operational processes as well as investments and economic sustainability of terminal operations.
The abovementioned European Social Partners in the ports sector decided that additional research is needed to assess more precisely how those changes affect terminal operations and working conditions. One of the elements of the research is conducting interviews among a selection of EU port authorities, terminal operators and labour representatives. This month, visits to Gdansk, Genoa, Hamburg, and Norrköping have taken place. A visit to the port of Rotterdam is to follow within the coming weeks.
The social and economic assessment of the European port sector by MTBS and Dynamar will be delivered by January 2019.