Shortsea and feeder operators lodge complaint
A classic case of class struggle makes a comeback: six European shortsea and feeder ship operators have lodged an official complaint with the European Commission. Their claim is that International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) attempts to force ships to use dockers for container lashing violate EU competition law.
In a letter to the directorate-general for competition dated 19 May 2020, the operators call for an official investigation into the ITF and affiliated Dutch union FNV Bondgnoten.
The complaint focuses on the “dockers’ clause”, part of an agreement reached between the ITF and the joint negotiating group (JNG) of maritime employers in 2018, which covers approximately 15,000 sea-going vessels worldwide.
The revised dockers’ clause seeks to prohibit seafarers from container lashing if qualified dock workers that are members to an ITF-affiliated union are available. (mw)