The Hamburg Parliament has finally approved the controversial entry of the world’s largest shipping company, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), into Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA). The red-green coalition pushed through the deal in the second and final reading despite fierce protests.
In a roll-call vote, 72 of the 105 MPs present voted for the deal, 33 against. This corresponds to the two-thirds majority of the SPD and the Greens in the Parliament. The decision was originally supposed to be made in the last session before the summer break – but this was prevented by the opposition. Before the deal can be put into action, however, the EU Commission must still give its approval.
Historic decision
The decision is historic – opponents and supporters of the port deal agree on this assessment. Things cannot continue as they have been and a change of course is only possible with a strong partner like MSC, stressed Economics Senator Melanie Leonhard (SPD) on Wednesday in the Citizens’ Assembly: “The strategic partnership with the largest shipping company in the world offers positive future options for HHLA, in a global market environment that has become significantly more difficult in recent months.” The partial sale of HHLA is a sign of weakness, said representatives of the Left, the AfD and the CDU. Their economic policy spokesman Götz Wiese said: “On the high seas you are in God’s hands – in the Port of Hamburg at HHLA you are in the hands of MSC.” In the future, the Swiss shipping company will determine where the port is heading, even if the city still formally has the majority.
MSC gets almost half of HHLA shares
The Hamburg Senate wants to bring MSC on board to stabilize HHLA and container handling. The city is to hold 50.1 percent of the company and MSC 49.9 percent. The city previously owned around 70 percent, the rest was widely held. In return, MSC wants to increase its cargo volume at the HHLA terminals from next year and almost double it to one million standard containers per year by 2031. In addition, the Swiss shipping company wants to build a new German headquarters in Hamburg and, together with the city, increase HHLA’s equity by 450 million euros.
Dock workers fear for their jobs
The union ver.di and dock workers are strictly against the deal and have therefore taken to the streets several times. From ver.di’s point of view, not only jobs at HHLA are threatened, but also at other port companies such as the port operations and the lashing companies. In addition, the deal effectively gives MSC extensive veto rights. Experts had also warned against the deal in expert hearings, calling it a “historic mistake”.
Ver.di: “A black day for Hamburg”
After the vote of the citizens, Hamburg’s ver.di boss Sandra Goldschmidt said: “This is a black day for Hamburg.” This deal is the result of a short-sighted logic that follows the idea of location competition and other backward-looking concepts. The Senate has failed to provide answers to the real questions of the future, for example what role the Port of Hamburg should play in the socio-ecological transformation under the auspices of globalization and the climate crisis. “Instead, it is aiding and abetting the formation of a monopoly by the world’s largest shipping company, MSC, which is notable for its disregard for employee and environmental rights,” said Goldschmidt. Ver.di also accuses the Senate of giving up political control over public property and critical infrastructure at the same time, since MSC is given a de facto right of veto on important issues.
With “day one” of the MSC era, “we will continue to step into the ring for every job with our good level of organization in the port,” said Goldschmidt. Basically, this shows once again “that we can only counter the power of the corporations, especially the shipping companies, through joint, also international solidarity.”
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NDR 90.3 | NDR 90.3 Current | 05.09.2024 | 06:00 a.m.