Unionists from throughout Latin America and the Caribbean tell ENAPU president (Mario Arbulu Miranda) that dockers in the port of Callao have their full support
Dockers’ unionists have pledged to build strong unions in new terminals to end the attack on working conditions across Latin America and the Caribbean.
The unionists made the promise at an ITF meeting in Lima, Peru, last week to discuss a strategy for global network terminals (GNTs) in the region.
The new DP World terminal at Callao, Peru, provided a vivid example of the strategic challenge. Gustavo Gutierrez Vigil, president of ITF-affiliated union Federación Nacional de Trabajadores de la Empresa Nacional de Puertos said: “DP World has been given a licence literally to eat up the business of the public port in Callao. It has no rent to pay for four years and has been given prime land. It has brand new equipment, while the public port has been starved of investment.
“It is clear that the government and DP World think they can destroy the public port within two years through unfair competition. We have expressed our concerns; granting ‘privileged businesses’ in Peru is always associated with corruption.”’
Antonio Fritz, ITF Americas regional secretary, said: “The GNTs are mistaken if they think they can build a non-union port sector in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our unions are reorganising. We already have good examples of unions organising in the GNTs. This week we have shared ideas about the most effective methods for organising. Unions are strongest in places like Vitoria where different unions in the port work together closely. This is the way forward.”
Delegates also discussed the importance of sharing information. Gavonnie Phipps of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union said: “This workshop was very important because we discussed the importance of sharing information. In our union we take research very seriously, and now we will be able to share our knowledge with other unions through the ITF dockers’ port intelligence database.”
The meeting involved unions from Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico and Peru.