and development and development of port instead

Sixteen years after the Act of 9 June 1992 of the dockworkers of the employees like the others in organizing the transfer of this corporation in handling companies, the France finally has, last July, a legislative arsenal to complete the port reform. Initiated by the State Secretary Socialist to the sea Poaches (Government watercress), continued by his successor Charles Josselin (Bérégovoy Government) and supported by the opposition of right-wing of the time, the 1992 reform had indeed settled that part of the problem of lack of competitiveness of French ports. Of course, the productivity of the dockers has since significantly improved their number was divided by two in sixteen years. But this has not prevented the French ports to continue at the same time to lose market share to their competitors, to the first ranks of which Antwerp, Belgium, Rotterdam at the Netherlands, Hamburg in Germany and in Mediterranean, genes in Italy or Spain Barcelona.

Where the law of July 2008, brought by the Secretary of State for transport, Dominique Bussereau, Government Fillon and sustained by the Socialists. This Act, the decrees are to be adopted, is part of the lineage of several recommendations of the Court of Auditors and, above all, those of a connoisseur of the sector: the Inspector General of the bridges and chaussées Claude Gressier, author in July 2007 for a report scraping away on the subject. The main contribution of this new law is to clarify the tasks of the autonomous port of Dunkirk, Rouen, Le Havre, Nantes-Saint Nazaire, La Rochelle, Bordeaux and Marseille. Renamed "great sea ports" and equipped with a mode of governance renovated, these ports managed by the State are now refocused on their major tasks of public authority (access, police, security...) and development and development of port instead. Within two years, they consequently have filialisé or transferred to handling companies, the operation of port terminals, i.e. their personal crane and tooling (gantry cranes, cranes) that come with. Therefore, handlers will have, as claiming longstanding, unique authority on dockworkers and crane operators, two professions very close since participating in the loading and unloading of the goods between the boat and the dock, which will end a series of problems that can appear to the boat stop. The companies will also have the mastery of the necessary tools. In total, will be able to generalize the model of the integrated port terminal which is already the rule in most of the ports of Northern Europe and, in France, already adopted successfully by Dunkirk and the terminal Container Port 2000 at le Havre.

As there are sixteen years with the dockers, and it is because of this that the Governments of left and right have long been struck of aboulia on the subject, the adoption of this consensual act however was very difficult to admit to 1.918 crane operators potentially involved in the transfer to the private sector. Despite the opening, as early as last January, a period of consultation before the filing of the Bill, reform indeed resulted by three months of strikes in the spring. But in the end, including through the role of mediation given by the Government to Yves Cousquer, former President of the position and Aéroports de Paris, the national framework specifying the social transfer terms was signed on 30 October by all social partners, with the exception of FO, very minority on the ports. Now in possession of a "Toolbox", according to the word of Yves Cousquer, to negotiate the national framework, local port places now must live on the land reform. They have three months to develop their strategic plan, and then two years to focus effectively on their new missions. On the national level, the rapprochement between dockers and crane operators will be completed on June 30, 2009, date deadline for the development of a collective agreement common to the two professions.