In the Transport Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, hearings on the new bill on ports continue. The possibility of transferring up to 350 people from the AdSP could lead to a loss of human resources and capacity.
Rome – The watchword for Assiterminal and Uniport, which represent terminal operators and logistics companies, is sharing the goal of national coordination and direction on ports. But the distinctions highlighted during today’s informal hearings in the Transport Commission of the Chamber of Deputies on the bill to reform port governance are numerous, for those who manage the docks as well as for Ancip, the National Association of Port Companies and Workers.
Assiterminal is “in line with the government’s objective of outlining a more coordinated governance at the national level, ensuring uniform procedures throughout the country, and pushing for investments,” states the director general, Alessandro Ferrari. “We want to positively welcome some recent confirmations regarding the strengthening of central coordination, without depriving individual ports of their territorial autonomy, while enhancing their specific vocations,” he adds. Then, however, come the doubts. “Can Porti d’Italia plan, design, execute works, and grant concessions under a single legal framework? – Ferrari asks – Does the proposed dual concession mechanism make procedures too complex, and are we certain that this model is compatible with European regulations? Even if it were, what economic resources would it require without going to the market, with consequent competition profiles that are not easy to manage?” On these points, Assiterminal will present some proposals.
The secretary general of Uniport, Francesco Beltrano, also starts from the positive side. “We look favorably on the centralization of decision-making processes concerning port infrastructure within a broader system,” he says, hoping that the unified vision, the national steering committee, will also extend to more managerial aspects to achieve uniformity in planning and application of rules on concessions and digitalization. Porti d’Italia spa? “This was the choice. There were other possibilities, but we take note of the solution that has been identified and look to the future with confidence.” However, the critical issues are many. “First of all, that of resources, both from an economic point of view and in terms of human resources. The possibility of transferring up to 350 people from the AdSP could lead to a loss of some human resources and capacity, thus of providing responses at the peripheral level,” to begin with. With the transfer of economic resources from the AdSP to Porti d’Italia spa, moreover, “there could also be higher costs for port users.” Therefore, a “balance” is needed. Not to mention the issues already raised regarding differentiated autonomy and compliance with state aid rules, adds Beltrano.
The theme of port labor also returns, in the words of all three of those heard. The director general of Ancip, Gaudenzio Parenti, opens his speech by emphasizing: “I greatly appreciated that in the reform bill there is no mention of port labor.”
“This means that for institutions there is a widespread awareness of the strategic nature of port work understood as a regulated market, businesses, and workers,” he explains, but simultaneously announces that Ancip will present amendments to this bill “to concretize the fund for supporting the exodus of port workers, a mechanism that establishes and guarantees the operational continuity of article 17 entities and the recognition of certain port-related tasks among arduous work.” A need also shared by Ferrari and Beltrano.
The other issue to be clarified for Parenti concerns Porti d’Italia spa, which “must always remain exclusively public and cannot be taken over by operators already in the port market, i.e., the clients of the port market.” Furthermore, it is necessary to provide “counterbalances and guarantees” so that the strengthening of port governance does not come at the expense of and “overlap” with the role of the Port System Authorities. Additionally, the economic levy and the transfer of personnel from the Adsp to the PdI could create problems for the financing of the 15 bis fund, with which the Port System Authorities support article 17 entities (temporary labor providers), but which could also be used for the training and relocation of personnel under articles 16 and 18. “If there are fewer resources in the Port System Authority, the first thing they cut is the 15 bis fund,” Parenti summarizes.
Tomorrow the hearings continue with representatives of the Agcm, the Competition and Market Authority, the General Command of the Port Authorities, the National Association of Italian Municipalities, Assarmatori, Assologistica and Confitarma, plus Italia Nostra and Legambiente.
