Italy’s USB Mare e Porti union called a 24-hour nationwide strike by port workers on Monday, affecting companies and port authorities covered by the country’s port-sector labour framework, according to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.
The strike runs from 00:01 to midnight on September 28, the ministry’s official strike register shows. It covers companies operating under Articles 16, 17 and 18 of Italy’s Port Law 84/94, port system authorities and companies applying the national ports collective agreement.
“A 24-hour national port strike is scheduled for today, 28 September, involving port-sector companies mainly concerning port workers represented by USB Mare e Porti. Actions are reported at several ports, including Genoa, Civitavecchia and Gioia Tauro. The strike may affect port operations and related services where there is participation, potentially causing delays to vessel, gate and cargo-handling activities,” a Spokesperson for Contship told WorldCargo News. “No strike is planned at La Spezia, so no specific operational disruption is expected at LSCT the terminal gateway of Contship Group.”
Local reports on Monday confirmed that the strike was under way at ports including Genoa, Livorno, Gioia Tauro and Civitavecchia, with workers staging demonstrations and terminals warning of disruptions. At Livorno, Terminal Darsena Toscana (TDT) said in a customer advisory that it could not guarantee normal operations during the 24-hour strike period.
In Genoa, local reports said USB Mare e Porti had called the national strike and organised a demonstration outside the prefecture, while terminal operators including PSA SECH and PSA Genova Pra’ said in advisories that they were also expected to be affected by the stoppage. At Gioia Tauro, USB Calabria and Or.S.A. Mari e Porti called workers to a 9:30 a.m. demonstration at the port’s customs entrance. Workers at Civitavecchia also joined the national action, with a demonstration planned outside the Port Authority, according to local media.
The immediate issue behind the strike is the unions’ demand that port work be recognised as arduous work for pension purposes, allowing workers in the sector to qualify for the corresponding retirement provisions. USB and Or.S.A. say the government had committed in May to convening a technical committee to examine the issue but that the promised talks had not been held. The unions are calling for the committee to be convened and for the government to move towards formal recognition of the arduous nature of port work.
The union said dockworkers continued to work in holds reaching 50°C, on scorching quays and in 24-hour shifts around heavy machinery and suspended loads, where a moment of fatigue could be fatal. More than half of operational workers are over 50, it said, arguing that the physical demands and risks of the job should be recognised in retirement rules and that workers who have spent decades in such conditions should be able to retire earlier.
The unions are opposing an amendment to the port reform that would allow terminal operators to hire temporary workers directly through employment agencies, bypassing the Article 17 system that provides access to specialised, experienced port workers familiar with the specific risks and operations of the docks. The unions said that such changes could erode the pool of experienced port workers and increase safety risks, potentially leading to more accidents.