(Toronto, January 17, 2006)… Dock workers at Belgium, Greek, Danish, Swedish and Portuguese ports have gone on strike to protest proposed legislation by the European Union aimed at opening cargo handling to competition. This action follows rotating strikes that occurred last week at various European ports.
A spokesperson for the Belgium union claims "The strike is total. Nothing is happening at Belgian ports." Additional strikes are planned in France and Sweden. Dock workers from the UK, Italy and Poland attended a rally to support the striking workers, but have not gone on strike.
The European Parliament is expected to vote Wednesday on the EU's Port Package II program, which aims to end cargo handling monopolies and allow shipping lines to utilize independent contractors to load and unload vessels.
Additional information will be released as it becomes available. For more information, please call (905) 882-4880 David Lychek, Manager – Ocean Services.
