The call published on 25 September by the Authority of the Port System of the Northern Adriatic Sea open to Italian and EU companies for the identification of the company authorized to provide temporary port work in the port of Venice pursuant to Article 17 of Law No. 84 of 1994, in deadline of 28 October, has sparked protests that have resulted in in the proclamation of an indefinite strike by the employees of the New Venice Port Workers Company, the subject temporary port work provider pursuant to Article 17 of Law 84/94 in the Venetian port, by Filt Cgil, Fit Cisl and Uiltrasporti Veneto. In particular, the workers' representatives disputed the lack of clarity of the call "with respect to the qualifying points of those shared guidelines such as the social status' as well as 'all the elements that concern normal trade union relations in the workplace such as, for example, the application of first and second bargaining level to safeguard income levels".

According to the secretary general of Uiltrasporti, Marco Verzari, "the choices adopted by the Port Authority of the Adriatic Sea for the port of Venice represent yet another attempt to unhinge the current balance in the port system national team'. "Given that it is certainly not ours intention to enter into the merits of the definition of the tariff that regulates the relationship between the temporary work provider and the companies and port terminals - added Verzari - what is happening in the port of Venice is certainly not to be ascribed to a marginal and/or local problem. Instead, it is in fact a Trojan horse to destabilize the entire port system and economic and social imbalances with repercussions on the workers and repercussions on investments and resources essential for health and safety in the workplace. What's more, this happens in the presence of a rule, such as that of differentiated autonomy, through which Veneto asks exclusive competence also on ports and motorways, further confirming more the risks on the destructuring of the economic system and infrastructure of the entire country".

Recalling that "even in particularly critical phases, such as the one experienced with Covid, the port system has contributed decisively to supporting the country, by virtue of the competence and professionalism of the workers and the effective balance guaranteed by the Law 84/94", the Secretary General of Uiltrasporti explained that "for this reason we support the reasons claimed by the port workers of the port of Venice and we believe that the Port Authority should substantially revise the provisions of the call for proposals, taking into account the observations and needs of the world of work".