RAPIDLY-EXPANDING Teessport is to embark on a multi-million pound upgrade project which will help ship larger
quantities of Redcar steel around the world after securing Regional Growth Fund cash.

PD Ports will put the undisclosed sum towards the project, which will allow the port to dock ships with twice the existing cargo capacity.

That means steel can be shipped in larger quantities
from the SSI UK in Redcar, which reopened earlier this year when the Thai firm bought the mothballed plant.

When work is complete, the port will be able to take ships with cargoes of up to 90,000 tonnes – allowing it to keep up with SSI’s production target next year of 3.6m tonnes.

The port has already doubled capacity of its container terminal area making it the second largest in the North of England.
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/business/news/9994901.Ebac_secures_Regional_Growth_fund_grant_to_become_UK_s_only_washing_machine_manufacturer/

HSE MEETING 11TH OCTOBER 2012 
HEALTH & SAFETY IN DOCKS
(REPEAL OF DOCKS REGULATIONS)
 
This is something that causes great concern for ALL docks/ports around the UK. We recommend that Unite should continue to resist all attempts to scrap the ACOP in order to retain some form of regulation which has teeth and can be easily accessed and used by our members in the workplace.

The minutes from that meeting are now available for all to view from the file below..

Tomorrow the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats are launching their latest assault on the British worker and we urgently need your help to defeat a bill that could adversely affect the lives of millions of people.

Vince Cable and the Tory-led government will bring their Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (ERR) Bill back to the House of Commons to try and turn it into Law.

I need your help right now to make sure as many MPs as possible vote against the ERR bill tomorrow.

Click here to ask your MP to vote against this bill which strips workers of vital employment protections

This ERR bill will:

• Water down the rights of all employees in this country
• The time an employee is required to be employed before they are able to claim for unfair dismissal has already been raised from one year to two, and now these proposals will reduce the amount of compensation unfairly dismissed workers can receive
• Reduce protections for whistleblowers at work.

If the government can get this Bill passed they’ll also allow employers to make minimal offers to workers to leave, then gag those same workers from even mentioning this at employment tribunal.

Not content with action that will leave thousands in fear for their jobs – the government’s bill will also abolish the Human Rights Commission’s duty to promote a society free of discrimination. It is disgraceful that Ministers should pretend abolishing action to end discrimination should be part of anything called an ‘enterprise’ bill.

The Labour position is very clear – we will be voting against the Bill this week. 

We do not want to make it easier for bosses to sack people, we want to make it easier for firms to hire. Nothing less than real action to help the economy will do, and sweeping aside workers rights is only going to make things much, much worse. Please take 1 minute of your day to fill in the electronic letter to your MP,

Our INFORMATION page has now been updated. 

You can now get free advise on Mortgages, Equity release, Pensions and Investments at click of a button. This offer is for Unite members only. Simply visit www.pdportscouncil.weebly.com and go to our INFORMATION page and click on the relevant electronic leaflet.