On 24th September 2015 ETF and ITF affiliates meet in London to discuss the ongoing war on tariffs and its impact on employment and working conditions.
Global players impose unfair tariffs and demands on local tug operators to do likewise with serious social consequences. The ETF/ITF Tug Conference adopts unanimously a declaration demanding all tariffs and discounts allocated to be fully transparent and publish before they come into force.
The demand that the full labour cost is taken into account into the calculation of such tariffs. Working below cost should be declared unlawful.
Affiliates demand the European Commission to start an investigation to examine the systems and the various business models put in place by large tug operators in order to apply for State Aid and by doing so undercut fair competition.