The Pilots' Union has decided to appeal to the TAR on the new mechanisms for setting pilotage service charges

"The user - bellomo denounced - still tries to conceal their goal, which is to get their hands on the richness of the pilot indiscriminately, and behind the apparent openness to mitigating the effects of adverse legislation for pilots hides the crystallization of a regulation that will remove forever to the pilots the possibility that they will be recognised their rights. We are faced with - he noted - to an absurd condition of vassallage that presupposes the surrender of unconditional nature of our profession, accepted even by those who do not it should.'

The President of the UP also criticised the analyses carried out on the sector: "there is discussion - he noted - of refoundation of the category, how to deal with the changes that will affect the piloting service, starting, however, from the contents of the studies commissioned to the Brattle Group and cieli, which as is well known approach the piloting service to a service performed by a private entity and therefore were widely censored by the our association as it does not consider the way forward to the good of the category.'

Bellomo stressed that "the need to separate treatment of the piloting service cannot be be considered at all a platitude as the competent administrations have an obligation to rigorously identify a formula that combines the needs of the piloting service, not exposed to competition, and what is explicitly required by the Regulation 352/2017', establishing a regulatory framework for the provision of port services and common rules on financial transparency of ports. "Since our formula, more and more frequently, you want to align with other port services -- Bellomo wondered -- why the elements that for the piloting service are put in place discussion are, on the other hand, supinely accepted for a service port, which has an almost identical formula? For having highlighted this inconsistency and having touched the nerve discovered -- he recalled -- we were harshly criticized by all and in particular by the port service itself.'

In addition, Bellomo noted that "the request of the Ministry to make the tariff of pilotage, due to the entry into force of the 352/201.7 is not compatible with the note of 10 August 2020, especially if we take into account that all the inconsistencies highlighted by the the same study are not resolved in the final document.' The President of the Pilots' Union noted that as a result of the ministerial provisions "could be that of not significant tariff increases which in the best possible way assumptions will produce a maintenance of the current low distributions, while the severity of the agreed changes with the users will certainly produce the cut in the salaries of the pilots.'