Page 207 - 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. 207
The Labour Factor: The Docks of Trieste and Koper through the Global Crisis
bly increased and, given the limits of the infrastructural equipment, in
terms of manoeuvring channels, length of the piers, and depth, require a
new organization of work, as we read in the Plan of Personnel of the port
of Trieste (Autorità di Sistema Portuale del Mare Adriatico Orientale Porti
di Trieste e Monfalcone 2019).
In fact, in the operational reality, work peaks are no longer under-
stood as merely quantitative exceptional moments, but as structural ele-
ments of a variable cyclicality in quantity and quality. This cyclicality dis-
rupts the traditional working hours of terminal employees and proposes
professional, quantitative, and qualitative needs that are uneven in shifts
and working days. The variable cyclicality means that we are not faced
with sudden surges in the demand for resources (manpower and means)
compared with a predetermined and predictable regular standard, but of
a permanent variability or possible variability of the factors that contrib-
ute to the demand for labour resources and means.
Therefore, it is necessary to organize workers’ spaces and skills in a
different way. In fact, in a dynamic and constantly evolving context, con-
tinuous training is becoming increasingly important, both as regards
specialized professionals and for multifunctional ones, with the aim of
obtaining a widely usable workforce (Autorità di Sistema Portuale del Mare
Adriatico Orientale Porti di Trieste e Monfalcone 2019).
Furthermore, the great variability of arrivals by sea must be com-
bined with the regularity of rail transport, and this entails an expansion
of port infrastructures. The expansion of infrastructures is beginning to
arouse some resistance from local communities which, perhaps, consid-
er it worthwhile to invest scarce public resources in another direction and
support the idea of a more balanced distribution of traffic between ports.
However, both the ports of Trieste and Koper estimate that they could
benefit from the attraction of large ships and foresee expansion opera-
tions in the short term.
The Strikes
An analysis of strikes in the ports of Trieste and Koper can allow us to
measure a more complex series of phenomena concerning the two cities
and their relationship with their respective port systems. According to
the scheme developed by Sapsford and Turnbull, studying the strikes in
British ports, there are two models that describe these collective actions
and their relations with other forms of industrial conflict: the ‘balloon’
207
bly increased and, given the limits of the infrastructural equipment, in
terms of manoeuvring channels, length of the piers, and depth, require a
new organization of work, as we read in the Plan of Personnel of the port
of Trieste (Autorità di Sistema Portuale del Mare Adriatico Orientale Porti
di Trieste e Monfalcone 2019).
In fact, in the operational reality, work peaks are no longer under-
stood as merely quantitative exceptional moments, but as structural ele-
ments of a variable cyclicality in quantity and quality. This cyclicality dis-
rupts the traditional working hours of terminal employees and proposes
professional, quantitative, and qualitative needs that are uneven in shifts
and working days. The variable cyclicality means that we are not faced
with sudden surges in the demand for resources (manpower and means)
compared with a predetermined and predictable regular standard, but of
a permanent variability or possible variability of the factors that contrib-
ute to the demand for labour resources and means.
Therefore, it is necessary to organize workers’ spaces and skills in a
different way. In fact, in a dynamic and constantly evolving context, con-
tinuous training is becoming increasingly important, both as regards
specialized professionals and for multifunctional ones, with the aim of
obtaining a widely usable workforce (Autorità di Sistema Portuale del Mare
Adriatico Orientale Porti di Trieste e Monfalcone 2019).
Furthermore, the great variability of arrivals by sea must be com-
bined with the regularity of rail transport, and this entails an expansion
of port infrastructures. The expansion of infrastructures is beginning to
arouse some resistance from local communities which, perhaps, consid-
er it worthwhile to invest scarce public resources in another direction and
support the idea of a more balanced distribution of traffic between ports.
However, both the ports of Trieste and Koper estimate that they could
benefit from the attraction of large ships and foresee expansion opera-
tions in the short term.
The Strikes
An analysis of strikes in the ports of Trieste and Koper can allow us to
measure a more complex series of phenomena concerning the two cities
and their relationship with their respective port systems. According to
the scheme developed by Sapsford and Turnbull, studying the strikes in
British ports, there are two models that describe these collective actions
and their relations with other forms of industrial conflict: the ‘balloon’
207
