Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Dock Work Convention, 1973 (No. 137) - Finland (Ratification: 1976)

The Committee notes the observations of the Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), the Finnish Confederation of Professionals (STTK), as well as the Confederation of Unions for Professional and Managerial Staff in Finland (AKAVA), communicated with the Government’s report. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect.

Article 3 of the Convention. Priority of engagement. Application in practice. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on various legislative amendments during the reporting period. It also notes the Government’s indication that the Convention has been implemented through consecutive collective agreements concluded between the Finnish Transport Workers’ Union (AKT) and the Finnish Port Operators Association (the Association). It notes that the current agreement is due to end on 1 February 2019, with a possibility of extension through 31 January 2021. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that, as was the case under the previous collective agreements, the current agreement contains a clause providing that 90 per cent of stevedores and repair shop employees in a company must be permanent employees, with daily temporary stevedores accounting for no more than 10 per cent of the total number of employees. According to information provided by the AKT, the Committee notes that 2,350 permanent and temporary stevedores were employed in 2017, of which 2,250 were men and 100 were women. It notes that the number of female stevedores has remained stable for the past three years. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that member companies of the Association employ an estimated 300 port foremen, 300 office staff, 2,100 full-time stevedores and, on average, 150 temporary stevedores. The Government adds that the Association currently has 41 member companies operating in 25 ports. In their observations, SAK, STTK and AKAVA recall that the purpose of the Convention concerning the social impacts of new cargo handling methods is to safeguard the continued employment and livelihood in dock work for port employees by ensuring that registered dockworkers are accorded priority of engagement for dock work. The trade unions consider that the purpose of the collective agreement governing the sector remains important. They express concern that turnaround times are decreasing as new cargo binding methods and unitization increase, and automation of work processes are reducing the need for stevedores in loading and unloading cargo. As a result, pre processing and post-processing of cargo account for an increasing percentage of dockworkers’ work, and employers have sought to assign this work to their employees rather than to registered dockworkers. Moreover, shipping lines seek to assign cargo lashing duties on board stern port vessels, which operate fast, at relatively short intervals and with small cargoes, to seafarers rather than to dockworkers, whereas the trade unions consider that dock work should continue to be carried out by registered dockworkers. The Committee requests that the Government provide a copy of the current collective agreement giving effect to the Convention. It also requests the Government to indicate the manner in which registered dockworkers are assured priority of engagement in dock work, particularly in light of the concerns expressed by the social partners in their observations. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including for instance extracts from reports and particulars of the numbers of dockworkers, disaggregated by gender, employment status (permanent or temporary) and profession, and of variations in their numbers.