Registrations for the 7th annual ESPO conference, which will be held in Helsinki on 27-28 May, are coming in steadily and the programme is now in the final stages of completion.
One of the main sessions of the conference is dedicated to port labour and port-related employment which are key factors for port competitiveness. These issues also play an important role in the successful completion of port reform processes.
The session will start off with the presentation of a state-of-the-art report which Prof. Theo Notteboom of ITMMA is preparing for ESPO. This report will cover the employment effects of ports on the wider economy, labour mobility, employment and public awareness as well as the role of training and education. It will also contain an overview of how port labour is organised in European ports, highlighting key factors of success.
These conceptual and empirical findings will then be discussed with a panel of experts including Marc Van Peel, President of the Antwerp Port Authority, Magnus Kårestedt, President and CEO of the Port of Göteborg, Bernt Kamin, Chairman of the Dockers Section of the European Transport Workers’ Federation, Peter Shaw, European Coordinator of the International Dockers’ Council and Diego Teurelincx, Secretary General of FEPORT.