"We are strongly opposed to the establishment of the S.p.a. Ports of Italy and we cannot in any way agree on a reform which does not give guarantees for workers and for the protection of the national contract". This was stated in a note by the general secretary and the national secretary of Uiltrasporti, Marco Verzari and Roberto Gulli of Uiltrasporti, commenting on the bill to reform port governance currently before Parliament.

"While deeming it necessary to update some aspects of the Law 84/94 to face the new challenges of logistics and international competitiveness - explained the representatives of the trade union organisation - we believe that the text under discussion today may distort the meaning underlying the law, profoundly altering the balances on which the Italian port system, without offering adequate guarantees to the workers and the Port System Authorities".

"We must continue to preserve - Verzari argued and Gulli - the public nature of ports and for this reason we are strongly convinced that the Port Authorities must be coordinated by a public entity that can protect workers and port workers".

"We hope - continues the note - that the Parliament, also with the involvement of the social partners, the text of the bill, guaranteeing the nature of the of the System Authorities and also introducing some indispensable guarantees: the full protection of workers in the Port System Authority; the integral safeguarding of the economic and regulatory treatment, including the second level; the explicit recognition of the contract national labour collective of the Ports as a contract of reference for all the activities carried out by the new company; the maintenance of adequate financial resources for the Port System Authority so that they can continue to invest in the development of ports, in supporting the port work and employment".

"We will continue - concluded the two secretaries of the Uiltrasporti - to carefully monitor the process of the reform, putting forward proposals for amendments and promoting discussion with the institutions so that the reform can really hit the the aim of further strengthening one of the fundamental for the economy of our country such as the port one".