The stevedores union on the US East and Gulf coasts has made bitter comments on the possible advent of fully automated terminals on its turf.
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) said it would oppose any management attempt to fully automate container terminals - this, said press reports “signalling tough labour contract talks ahead”.
The union was adamant that it could not accept anything that eliminated jobs, according to its president, Harold Daggett. At the same time he said the union had “no problem” with semi-automated terminals, adding the almost hypocritical sentence: “We know that we cannot stop progress.”
And he said this just ahead of the February 13 start of talks on labour contracts between the ILA and the US Maritime Alliance (USMX), which has expressed strong praise about the automation achieved in the European main ports of Rotterdam and Hamburg.
