Economic Development minister Ana Pastor, under pressure to reform Spain''s existing stevedoring practices, has revealed that “there isn''t a proposal” on the table.
She added that “we are working with the entire sector on the drafting of documents”. Once there is a proposal it will be made known, she stressed, since it will then have to be passed into law by the Spanish parliament.
Ms Pastor is in a particularly difficult position since she must first persuade organised labour to accept any proposal prior to seeking parliamentary approval. A previous attempt by the National Ports Authority to change the stevedoring model in line with a ruling from the Court of Justice in Luxembourg was rejected outright by the unions, forcing the government to ask the unions to come up with their own proposal.
To date, the unions, while conceding that change needs to be made, have declared open hostility to the degree with which this is required by the European Commission.
