Like Amazon's Kiva robots but big enough to move containers
From Motherboard:
From Motherboard:
Dock workers at the Port of Rotterdam, Europe’s busiest container port, recently went on strike over increasing automation and the need for job security. Employees fear that automation at the docks in the coming years will put hundreds out of work.
The first day of strike action took place on January 7 for 24 hours after members of the FNV Havens and CNV unions voted unanimously in December to go on strike. It was the first strike at the port in 13 years, and more strikes could be on the way if an agreement isn’t reached, according to FNV Havens.
The automation of container terminals at Rotterdam, the growth of activity at the port, and protecting the jobs of dockworkers is at the center of the dispute, said Niek Stam, head of FNV Havens.
According to the unions, more than 3,000 people took part in the strikes across the Port of Rotterdam. FNV Havens claims that 800 jobs are at risk with the introduction of new automated container terminals, which automate some or all of the functions of ship-to-port cranes, stacking operations, or the use of automated guided vehicles. In response, the union wants assurances of job security in place for the coming years.
The building of two new highly automated terminals has been controversial [link in Dutch], leading the union to believe that older terminals will be shut down, and it has been holding talks on strike action for months.
“If you build new terminals and they have a high level of automation but you leave the current terminals with the workers, you leave them alone, there will be no problem,” said Stam.
“But there is no growth in the market, so what will happen is they will take away the containers from the existing terminals to the new terminals,” he claimed. “The new terminals have a high level of automation. It means we will lose jobs.”
The union is asking for a guarantee that there will be no compulsory redundancies between now and 2020. A spokesperson for the Port of Rotterdam told Motherboard last week that talks are ongoing and there will be no more work stoppages during these negotiations. However, Niek Stam said that if nothing can be agreed, striking will be an option again.
“If it is necessary, we will not run away from that,” he said, giving no specific timeline for the talks but said they will take a number of weeks. “As soon as I don’t believe there is any solution available I will go back to my membership and ask to go on strike again.”
The installation of highly automated technology at ports has been a point of contention for many unions in the industry in recent years.
In one example, Stam explained that in the past a crane crew at a port might consist of seven workers but in many cases this has been reduced to two or three employees working with more computerized systems....MORE
