Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-01-17-Speech-2-053"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20060117.5.2-053"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Thank you Mr President. We are not talking here about containers; we are talking here about people, about my colleagues. This discussion is about a directive which, justifiably, the European Transport Workers Federation is calling unnecessary, provocative and unbalanced, and the port authorities and the industry also agree about this. It contains the worst elements of another proposal which this Parliament has already rejected. After that vote, instead of forgetting all about it or at least coming up with a decent proposal, the Commission took an even worse position. My vote will be against this directive because it undermines the rights which this category of workers, port workers, acquired with much difficulty in the course of a long period of time. I am going to vote against this directive because it opens the door for abuses in the way that certain workers are treated, as well as putting workers against each other. I am going to vote against this directive because it reduces the health and safety in such delicate areas as ports. When we boast so much here about health and safety, how can we do something which undermines it? I am going to vote against this directive because I believe in balanced competition where everybody gives his share, and not where it is always the workers and the lower paid who have to pay. I believe that even those who are in favour of liberalisation of port services should vote to reject this directive. This is because a vote in favour would be opening the way for an original directive which even our colleagues seem to agree that it has a lot of shortcomings. Let us give a strong signal that we are building a social Europe and not a system without a conscience. The vote on the ports directive is a golden opportunity to give hope and direction to the many who are waiting for a move from an institution like ours. I am proud that the Maltese Labour Party and the Socialist Group in the European Parliament are responding in a consistent way to this call. To the millions of European workers, among them hundreds of Maltese workers represented by the General Workers Union, and who are also here today and who are affected by this directive, we want to let them know that we are solidly behind them."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples