IN AN effort to enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of Limassol Port, a historic agreement has been reached whereby stevedores’ contracts will be terminated, and new staff will be employed with reformed employment terms.
“Following five years of consultation with the Ministry of Transport and trade unions PEO and SEK, we have reached a historic agreement on the future of workers who load cargos at the port,” John Economou, Chairman of the Cyprus Shipping Association, said yesterday. “The agreement will be incorporated into a bill to go to Parliament. The stevedores will be made to leave and will receive compensation so that new workers can start.”
“We let the consultation span for five years because we wanted to ensure we would reach a consensus. We thought that the ideal way was to provide sufficient compensation so that their exit is smooth and strike-free. Thus, we will have a smooth transition to the private initiative. Monopolies have to be broken,” he added.
Trade union officials have also expressed their satisfaction with the agreement. “The agreement reached is good and satisfactory,” said Aristophanis Demosthenous, Central Organisational Secretary of PEO SEGDAMELIN in Limassol.
“The stevedores will get very well compensated and the Port’s costs will be significantly reduced. We hope that this reduction in costs will also be felt by the consumer and will have a positive effect on Cyprus’ economy in general
“There were many problems; the aged workforce, the old agreements which did not reflect today’s situation. A whole new employment agreement will be entering into force for the new workers who will be replacing the old,” Demosthenous added.
Presently, port labourers can earn between £70,000-£80,000 a year, which is a significant cost for the Port.
“This is too much of a burden for those who are asked to cover these costs, i.e. the consumers,” said Economou. “This high labour cost may also act as a deterrent for a ship owner, who may not choose Cyprus as it’s too expensive. Some of these workers are too old and have not received training. Some of them don’t even hold a driving licence and yet they drive vehicles at the port. Some cannot even operate the machines properly,” added Economou.
The agreement is expected to cut these costs and make Limassol Port more competitive. Economou confirmed that the reform will reduce costs by 60 per cent. For a number of years, the money saved will be used to compensate the labourers. The exact number of years is presently under discussion by the Cyprus Shipping Association in consultation with the Ministry of Finance and the decision will be incorporated into a bill.
The employment terms for the new staff will also change to reflect the present situation. “It is true that these people have worked extremely hard in the old days and were paid accordingly. They were carrying heavy loads on their shoulders and we are very grateful for that. Today, however the loads are carried mechanically in containers. So, we cannot continue to pay the workers according to how heavy the load is, as the same effort is required regardless of a cargo’s weight,” Economou explained.
“The new employees will not get paid as much as the old ones did. Still they will receive satisfactory wages. There will be a base daily wage, in addition to payment determined by five scales according to cargo weight.” Demosthenous added. These scales have been simplified and modified to reflect current needs.
There’s another category of port labourers – the ‘porters’, responsible for horizontal transport of cargo to warehouses. The fate of this group is currently being decided.
Presently, these porters enjoy a monopoly as the Port Authority provides exclusive licences to these workers. Anti-monopoly regulations, however, brought about by the EU require that this monopoly is broken.
The breakup of established monopolies is characteristic of the challenges faced by an economy in transition, and the challenges faced by the shipping industry reflects this fact, says Economou. “Without the ports Cyprus cannot sustain itself. They are the lungs of our economy. We are always facing problems. Our entry to the EU has brought about big changes and has raised costs. We are making strong efforts to improve.”
