Today the Italian Association of Port Terminal Operators (Assiterminal) has forwarded, through the online platform prepared by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport for stakeholder consultation of documents and notes on the drawing of the port governance reform law, some proposals amendments that focus on a number of aspects: 'the first strand of proposals - announced the president of Assiterminal, Tomaso Cognolato - is the one linked to work and to our point of view on some possible developments of the structure in the ports, in view of the negotiation process for the renewal of the collective agreement for seafarers will restart next autumn".

Another issue that Assiterminal proposes to overcome is the distinction, in the authorization discipline of companies, and therefore consequently also in the concession process for terminal operators, between port operations and services. "If we also look at the European discipline, but also to international terminology - has explained Cognolato - we believe that this distinction no longer has sense of existence. Operations on the quay and on board the ships, as well as the functional one for interaction with all the means of transport, is made up of a harmonized set of activities, one functional to the other, whether they are intended as a single "cycle" as well as partial, regardless of the fact that they are carried out on their own, under contract, to through temporary workers".

In addition to overcoming this distinction, for the association it is It is also necessary to intervene on the existence of business plans: currently - Assiterminal recalled - the authorizations are issued even for short periods, which, frankly, cannot be be a guarantee of the financial stability of an asset dedicated to ensure operation both on public docks and alongside a terminal operator. "We therefore believe - he said the director of Assiterminal, Alessandro Ferrari - which is a fair Minimum time frame for proper assessment of capacity of doing business, cannot be less than five years".

Assiterminal believes that simplifying and standardizing the approach to the different activities that can be carried out in a port can also facilitate companies authorized to provide work thus expanding the possibility of using the even perhaps with some inability, on areas that are more widespread than those taken into account until today. For the association, it is necessary that these companies, where already existing, are considered in the same way as of services of general interest. In fact - he noted Assiterminal - the regulatory system already outlines its contours but perhaps they never had the courage to give the name and the related discipline to these realities, guaranteeing moreover, a financial stability more under control and tariff systems in line with indices that each Authority Port System could evaluate and control with greater effectiveness and compliance with the targets of the respective ports.

Then, Assiterminal focused on the centrality the creation of the fund for the early retirement of workers "It's the last chance - highlighted the association - which has the government to implement to the norm. On the other hand, the resources set aside by companies and workers will have to return to their respective availability, but a great opportunity to facilitate the generational change in ports through an appropriate tool. Without this tool, in a few years it will be possible to foresee problems of a social nature on the category and of holding competitive and we don't want that."

Finally, Assiterminal has announced that several ideas for amendment of the current port law 84/94 also go into the to make certain provisions enforceable through which the AdSP already can, even if few do, contribute the training of workers, including those in companies and terminals, obviously taking into account those Port Staff Plans that are missing systemic structure and effective real.