FACED with the termination of the International Longshore
and Warehouse Union (ILWU) contract on July 1 next year, the Pacific Maritime
Association (PMA) have made labour peace its top priority as all-water routes
divert cargo away from the west coast to US east coast ports.
The PMA annual report stressed intense competition from
east coast ports as carriers deploy larger ships from Asia via the Suez and the
Panama, bypassing the west coast which used to rail or truck the cargo east.
The employers highlight that dockers earn US$132,946 a
year for a 40-hour work week, up from $125,461 a year in 2007. Total payroll
last year came to $1.5 billion, 50 per cent more than in 2002.
"Our focus must be on enhancing the ports' long-term
competitiveness. That's the best way to protect jobs and economic growth in the
regions where we do business," said the PMA annual report.
"It is essential that we work smartly, and well, to
prepare ourselves for the changes coming in the years ahead," said PMA
chief executive James McKenna in the PMA annual report.
Yet modernisation of cargo-handling operations is also on
the agenda, always a sore point with dockers who stand to lose jobs as labour
saving devices save the cost of employing labourers.
But the PMA feels that technology, modernisation and
jurisdiction, issues that stymied a quick agreement on the US east coast, were
largely resolved on the west coast in the contract negotiations of 2002 and
2008.
"The PMA said implementation of technology and
automation have resulted in increased cargo-handling productivity, yet
longshoremen also benefited in terms of higher wages and increased work
opportunities," the report said.
The PMA also recalled the week-long strike in Los Angeles
and Long Beach by the 600-member ILWU clerical local, which worsened when
dockers refused to cross clerical picket lines.
They also reminded stakeholders that 2012 cargo volume
was only slightly up on 2011, with laden containers increasing 1.3 per cent.
Source : HKSG.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar