Port workers at the Piraeus have turned to International Dockworkers Council, IDC, but so far that has not yielded any result as COSCO refuses to negotiate. China now wants to further penetrate the market.
“China is ready to increase its efforts to contribute to a solution to the debt crisis in the EU. We would be pleased with a close cooperation with the EU”, China’s Prime Minister Wen Jiabao declared, during a summit with EU leaders in the mid of February.
That was a clear sign. The EU is the biggest market for China and during 2012 China is going to pass the US as the Union’s biggest commercial partner.
While the EU is burdened with sovereign debts, China has huge currency reserves which have to be allocated.
The type of compensation that China expects is not clear but their help will not be for free.
By giving loans to Europe China supports indeed its own manufacturing industry but one also expects probably the possibility of increased Chinese investments within the EU, the revocation of the weapons embargo or “understanding” for China’s view on human rights.
Foreign companies standing in the queue
In that context the demands of the labor unions for better working laws at Pir 2 grow blurry.
There have been signs showing that COSCO wants to expand at the Piraeus.
“But we are not sure. One day we hear they will take over Pir 1 and control all the container terminals. Another day they say they will take control over the whole port”, Giorgios says.
“We never know what may happen. We are in a period in which all can be privatized. Foreign companies are queuing to buy public businesses at low prices, he continues.
“But COSCO does not want to negotiate, although we and IDC have called them three times for a meeting. It is not only about salaries but also about other working conditions, for example, safety at work, Giorgios states.
From Hamnreportage Grekland