Spanish ports chaos with on/off strike threats

Under current port labour practise in Spain, all workers must be employed through Sociedad Anonima de Gestion de Estibadores Portuarios (Sageps). But a 2014 ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said that this contravened the requirements of the EU Treaty’s freedom of establishment principle.

Consequently, the ECJ levied a €15.6m fine on Spain last July and threatened further penalties until legal amendments were made.

But efforts made by Spain to conform with ECJ requirements sparked protests from dockworkers and unions who see nothing wrong with the current set up which they say supports Spanish jobs for Spanish workers.

ITF president & chair of the dockers’ section Paddy Crumlin said: “Anyone who cares about Spain, Spanish jobs and its international standing knows that this plan stinks to high heaven. But it took the steadfast opposition of the workers, with international solidarity behind them, to make the politicians stand up and defeat this measure.”

To some though, the unrest is damaging to the reputation of Spanish ports. Despite the reversal of the decree, there are reports that they have been hit by congestion and shipping lines have rerouted vessels to avoid Spanish terminals.