Identificação de Trabalhadores Pode Congestionar Portos Americanos

"Worker identification could congest US ports Thursday, 03 April 2008 Stakeholders are concerned that the latest anti-terrorist security check will cause congestion at US ports and slow down container throughput. The new Transportation Workers Identification Credential (TWIC) system requires all personnel entering a US terminal unescorted to pass a background security check, register with the authorities and possess a biometric ID card. The TWIC system will officially be in place by September and most ports are already in the process of registering their users.The Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (TSA), which represents 14 major global carriers, has warned that the TWIC system could “result in large numbers of rail, trucking, warehousing and long-shore workers leaving the industry.” Several industry players suggested to Portworld recently that a significant section of the workforce at the US ports either possess 'illegal' credentials, or would rather not be registered with the government. According to one report, only a quarter of the some 750,000 people affected have so far been covered by the enrolment programme, which kicked off last year. At the key Californian ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, only 15,000 out of an estimated 60,000 had been enrolled by March 14.In fact, according to a Tradewinds article, the total number of workers affected at Los Angeles/Long Beach is actually some 100,000 if contractors and others are included. Officials have expressed concern at the “slow enrolment process” and Long Beach Harbour Commissioner Jim Hankla has urged for the port to “turn the heat up” with government regulators. According to the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), congestion at Los Angeles/Long Beach was avoided last year through the use of large numbers of 'casual' part-time workers who had begun employment since 2004 due to labour shortages. The PMA says thousands of these 'casuals' now support the 15,000 registered workers employed by PMA members and “may be the ones most affected by TWIC.” Meanwhile, the TSA is reportedly “keeping a wary eye” on current contract renewal talks between the dockers' union and their employers in the PMA. According to one Tradewinds report, security concerns and any threat of labour-related disruption “remind people of the impact on the US economy of the west coast ports, dramatically revealed in 2002 when they were shut down for 10 days during previous contract renewal talks, at a cost of billions of dollars.”" Fonte: Portworld