Port labour in the time of mega-ships: transformation processes and responses to market pressures

Journal title SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO
Author/s Andrea Bottalico
Publishing Year 2017 Issue 2017/146 Language Italian
Pages 17 P. 188-204 File size 120 KB
DOI 10.3280/SL2017-146012
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This paper shows the first empirical results of an ongoing comparative research on the dynamics of change in the European port labour. Focusing on the port of Genoa, the article provides an analysis of the requirements of the key players along the global supply chains and the impact on the working dynamics, through the case of a terminal container managed by the group PSA International. Attention is paid to the main elements that have been characterizing the port labour transformation processes, as well as the fragmentation of the internal hierarchies in the labour force, the decentralization and the effects of the progressive increase of the labour rhythms. Through the empirical analysis, the aim is to illustrate the forms of port labour reorganization under the market pressure, namely the increase in labour flexibility, and the role of social institutions in the mediation of these processes.

Questo articolo presenta i primi risultati di una ricerca comparata in corso sul lavoro portuale in Europa. Concentrando l’attenzione sul principale terminal con-tainer del porto di Genova, l’articolo fornisce un’analisi degli elementi principali che caratterizzano i mutamenti del lavoro portuale nelle sue articolazioni, dalla frammentazione delle relazioni gerarchiche interne alla forza lavoro agli effetti del decentramento e del progressivo aumento dei ritmi lavorativi sulla vita quotidiana. Attraverso metodi qualitativi, l’obiettivo è di illustrare le forme di riorganizzazione della riserva di lavoro portuale in virtù delle pressioni di mercato degli attori lungo la catena marittimo-logistica e dell’incremento della flessibilizzazione in seguito alle strategie volte al perseguimento delle economie di scala, con l’intenzione di esplorare in prospettiva il ruolo delle istituzioni sociali nella mediazione di questi processi.

Keywords: Port labour, terminal container, casualization, maritime-logistics chain

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Andrea Bottalico, Il lavoro portuale al tempo delle mega-navi: processi di trasformazione e risposte alle pressioni di mercato in "SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO " 146/2017, pp 188-204, DOI: 10.3280/SL2017-146012