Page 204 - Mellinato, Giulio, and Aleksander Panjek. Eds. 2022. Complex Gateways. Labour and Urban History of Maritime Port Cities: The Northern Adriaticin a Comparative Perspective. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
P. 204
plex Gateways
the fact that Luka Koper had collaborated with the IPS since 1995 did not
justify an administration that did not guarantee people humane work-
ing conditions and was not committed to overcoming irregular practices
(Gleščič 2017; Šuligoj 2017).
It must also be said that some of the IPS workers were foreigners and
therefore subject to the very restrictive legislation for foreign workers
in Slovenia promulgated after 2011 (Lukič 2010; Medica and Lukič 2011).
Between 2018 and 2019, not only as a result of the significant mo-
bilization of workers in recent years, but also following protests against
the privatization of the port, hiring policies moved towards a ‘decasu-
alization’ of work, thus increasing the number of direct employees. The
Control Committee of Luka Koper d.d., in 2018, in fact gave the green
light to an important change in the internal labour market. In that year
there were 1,311 direct port employees and the number set for 2019 was
1,695, thus providing for 384 new hires. The proposed solution was based
on the work of three groups of workers: direct workers, temporary work-
ers, and a small number of subcontracted companies. Luka Koper com-
mitted itself to cancel all relationships with temporary workers or ex-
ternal companies that were in place and publish a new public tender. The
so-called outsourcing focuses mainly on the management of the car ter-
minal and on the emptying of containers. A competition notice was also
to be prepared for the 300 direct hires, a notice to be made public in July
2018 (Luka Koper 2018). ‘This model of solution to the problem relating
to the workers executing port operations is economically bearable and re-
spectful of current labour regulations’, confirmed the current President
of the Board of Directors of Luka Koper, Dimitrij Zadel. In 2018, 48% of
workers at the Port of Koper were direct employees, while 52% worked
in the port on behalf of external companies. With the new agreement
signed and approved, 61% of workers are to be employees of Luka Koper,
12% are to be temporary workers and 27% are to be workers from compa-
nies outside the port. The new organization was to be up to speed, accord-
ing to Zadel, in the autumn, or at the latest by the end of, 2018 (Gleščič
2018).
The comment of the strongest union of the port, i.e. that of the crane
operators, is optimistic, as with this agreement Luka Koper has under-
taken the commitment to treat all the workers who work inside the port
in the same way, with the same wage levels and same workloads.
204
the fact that Luka Koper had collaborated with the IPS since 1995 did not
justify an administration that did not guarantee people humane work-
ing conditions and was not committed to overcoming irregular practices
(Gleščič 2017; Šuligoj 2017).
It must also be said that some of the IPS workers were foreigners and
therefore subject to the very restrictive legislation for foreign workers
in Slovenia promulgated after 2011 (Lukič 2010; Medica and Lukič 2011).
Between 2018 and 2019, not only as a result of the significant mo-
bilization of workers in recent years, but also following protests against
the privatization of the port, hiring policies moved towards a ‘decasu-
alization’ of work, thus increasing the number of direct employees. The
Control Committee of Luka Koper d.d., in 2018, in fact gave the green
light to an important change in the internal labour market. In that year
there were 1,311 direct port employees and the number set for 2019 was
1,695, thus providing for 384 new hires. The proposed solution was based
on the work of three groups of workers: direct workers, temporary work-
ers, and a small number of subcontracted companies. Luka Koper com-
mitted itself to cancel all relationships with temporary workers or ex-
ternal companies that were in place and publish a new public tender. The
so-called outsourcing focuses mainly on the management of the car ter-
minal and on the emptying of containers. A competition notice was also
to be prepared for the 300 direct hires, a notice to be made public in July
2018 (Luka Koper 2018). ‘This model of solution to the problem relating
to the workers executing port operations is economically bearable and re-
spectful of current labour regulations’, confirmed the current President
of the Board of Directors of Luka Koper, Dimitrij Zadel. In 2018, 48% of
workers at the Port of Koper were direct employees, while 52% worked
in the port on behalf of external companies. With the new agreement
signed and approved, 61% of workers are to be employees of Luka Koper,
12% are to be temporary workers and 27% are to be workers from compa-
nies outside the port. The new organization was to be up to speed, accord-
ing to Zadel, in the autumn, or at the latest by the end of, 2018 (Gleščič
2018).
The comment of the strongest union of the port, i.e. that of the crane
operators, is optimistic, as with this agreement Luka Koper has under-
taken the commitment to treat all the workers who work inside the port
in the same way, with the same wage levels and same workloads.
204
