Marseille strike leaves 17 ships still unloaded
The Marseille port authority said 17 ships were still waiting to be unloaded at terminals following a strike that paralysed traffic for 2 1/2 weeks.
The vessels, including 14 oil carriers, arrived at the port before the strike ended on March 31, Claire Battedou, a port spokeswoman, said last Friday.
The walkout stranded 63 ships at Europe's second-largest oil import hub, and cost refining and petrochemical companies tens of millions of euros while boosting petrol prices in New York trading on fears of shortages of refined products. The strike settlement sparked concern among industry officials that potential investors would decide to build installations elsewhere in Europe.
'The consequences of this conflict and the way it ended risk hurting the reputation of the port and becoming a handicap to its future,' Christian Garin, president of the board of directors of the port, said in a statement on April 2.
The settlement 'questions certain principles of the port's regulations that could be dissuasive to investors, depriving our region and country of projects that could provide economic development and jobs', he said.
The strike was started by the Confidiration Ginirale du Travail over the future of the workforce at a natural gas terminal under construction at Fos by Gaz de France SA. The company, owner of Europe's biggest gas network, planned to use its own employees to unload gas transporters at the terminal, scheduled to open by the end of the year. It said this was necessary for safety reasons.
To end the strike, Gaz de France agreed to create the equivalent of five jobs for port workers in addition to its own workforce at the terminals. The workers will be employed by the port authority but under the direction of Gaz de France. How the specific tasks associated with the unloading of the liquefied natural gas tankers will be allocated remains the subject of future negotiations.
Critics say forcing Gaz de France to hire port workers could set a precedent for other operators of private terminals.
The vessels, including 14 oil carriers, arrived at the port before the strike ended on March 31, Claire Battedou, a port spokeswoman, said last Friday.
The walkout stranded 63 ships at Europe's second-largest oil import hub, and cost refining and petrochemical companies tens of millions of euros while boosting petrol prices in New York trading on fears of shortages of refined products. The strike settlement sparked concern among industry officials that potential investors would decide to build installations elsewhere in Europe.
'The consequences of this conflict and the way it ended risk hurting the reputation of the port and becoming a handicap to its future,' Christian Garin, president of the board of directors of the port, said in a statement on April 2.
The settlement 'questions certain principles of the port's regulations that could be dissuasive to investors, depriving our region and country of projects that could provide economic development and jobs', he said.
The strike was started by the Confidiration Ginirale du Travail over the future of the workforce at a natural gas terminal under construction at Fos by Gaz de France SA. The company, owner of Europe's biggest gas network, planned to use its own employees to unload gas transporters at the terminal, scheduled to open by the end of the year. It said this was necessary for safety reasons.
To end the strike, Gaz de France agreed to create the equivalent of five jobs for port workers in addition to its own workforce at the terminals. The workers will be employed by the port authority but under the direction of Gaz de France. How the specific tasks associated with the unloading of the liquefied natural gas tankers will be allocated remains the subject of future negotiations.
Critics say forcing Gaz de France to hire port workers could set a precedent for other operators of private terminals.
