THE Government’s Secretary of State for Transport has applauded the success of Teesside’s port operations.

The Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin visited Teesport yesterday as part of a two-day tour of the region.

Bosses showed him the port’s new steel slab handling operations for SSI UK, which are nearing their two millionth tonne milestone - and a £16.7m infrastructure upgrade to the container terminal.

Mr McLoughlin said: “The port operations are very impressive, and future plans will make it even more competitive.

“It’s been very successful at winning RGF money - it’s an important part of our huge transport infrastructure.

“Particularly with what’s been happening in the last week, the traceability of goods and people being sure of where they come from is very important.”

Chief executive of port owner PD Ports, David Robinson, also outlined the commercial and environmental benefits of Teesport in a “portcentric” distribution approach - where imported goods are sorted at or near their port of entry, cutting handling costs, road miles and emissions.

Mr Robinson said: “Long-term, we got the message across that Teesside is very much open for business and this part of the UK is pushing forward with investment plans.

“This is one of the first ports the Secretary of State has visited in his new role - that’s a big tick in the box for us.”

The visit underlined the importance that Teesport has in the local economy, added Conservative MP for Stockton South James Wharton.

“It wasn’t many years ago we thought we would lose steel manufacturing, now with the investment SSI has made, there’s real reason to be positive about the future.”

Mr McLoughlin also visited Wynyard Park, and the new 840,000 sqft supercentre operated by Clipper.

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill

The most significant changes to employment law this year will be made by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill (ERRB). This is currently going through Parliament and so is subject to amendment. The Bill is expected to pass into legislation in April. Its key provisions include:
• Enabling employers to hold “pre-termination negotiations” (otherwise known as “protected conversations”) where the employer can offer termination payments to workers knowing that a Tribunal cannot take them into account when considering a claim for unfair dismissal.
• Renaming Compromise Agreements as Settlement Agreements;
• A requirement to provide information to ACAS before lodging an Employment Tribunal claim form;
• Enabling the Secretary of State to cap unfair dismissal awards;
• Introducing penalties on employers who have breached employment rights where the breach has aggravating factors.
• That a worker making a protected disclosure (whistleblowing) cannot bring a claim for breach of contract unless there is a wider public interest.
• Repeal of Equality Act provisions on third party harassment and discrimination questionnaires.
• Reducing the statutory consultation period for collective redundancies where 100 or more employees are proposed to be made redundant from 90 days to 45 days.
• Giving employment tribunals the power to order an employer to carry out an equal pay audit where there has been an equal pay breach.
• Removing employers’ statutory breach of duty in relation to workplace injuries.

Other key changes:
February 2013
Increase in Compensation Limits from 1 February 2013
• Limit on amount of compensatory award for unfair dismissal – increases from £72,300 to £74,200
• Limit on a week’s pay – increases from £430 to £450
• Limit on guaranteed pay – increases from £23.50 to £24.20.

March 2013
Parental Leave
Increase in unpaid parental leave from 13 weeks to 18 weeks per parent per child from 8 March.

Third Party Harassment
Repeal of the Equality Act 2010 provisions on third party harassment (NB this is a provision of ERRB so implementation date is subject to change).
Questionnaire procedure
Repeal of the questionnaire procedure under the Equality Act 2010 so that workers can no longer submit a Statutory Questionnaire to employers to request further information in a claim for discrimination (NB this is a provision of ERRB so implementation date is subject to change).
.

April 2013
Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure
Amendments include:
• Increased powers for employment Judges to strike out claims which have no reasonable prospects of success;
• Ability of employment Judges to make Deposit Orders in respect of each issue (e.g. unfair dismissal, disability discrimination unlawful deduction from wages) which has little reasonable prospects of success.
• Express provision to encourage parties to settle by way of judicial mediation
• Introducing tighter timetables or oral evidence.

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill provisions
See page 1 and above.
Employee-shareholders
Provisions on employee-ownerships allow employers to offer an employee a contract entitling the employee to shares of a minimum of £2,000 in exchange for losing the right to claim unfair dismissal, request flexible working and statutory redundancy pay.
Public Sector Equality Duty
Report of the government’s review of the public sector duties due to be published.
Personal Injury
Amendments to civil litigation funding and costs (Jackson Reforms) come into force.
Statutory pay and benefits
• Statutory Maternity pay, Paternity pay and Adoption pay increases from £134.45 per week to £136.78 per week.
• Statutory Sick pay increases from £85.85 to £86.70.
• Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) increases from £107.00 per week to £109.08 per week.



Summer 2013
Introduction of fees in Employment Tribunals. The proposed fees are as follows:

Fee Type

Level 1 Claim
Level 2 Claim
Issue fee
£160.00
£250.00
Hearing fee
£230.00
£950.00
Total
£390.00
£1200.00
Level 1 include claims for redundancy pay, unpaid wages, pay in lieu of notice.
Level 2 include claims for unfair dismissal and discrimination.

October 2013
• Abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board
• New National Minimum Wage rates

KEY CASES:
Below are the key cases anticipated for 2013:
Parkwood Leisure Ltd v Alemo Herron – decision from the European Court of Justice expected to be handed down on the 19 February 2013. This case will determine whether or not employers are required to honour pay rises agreed under a collective agreement, where employment has transferred under TUPE to another employer who is not a party to the collective agreement.
Ladele and McFarlane v UK – decision from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) expected to be handed down 15 January 2013. Both these cases are claims for religious discrimination arising out of threatened dismissal and dismissal, respectively, when the employee refused to carry out civil partnership service and refused to counsel same sex couples on grounds of their Christian beliefs.
Eweida and Chaplin v UK ECHR
Both of these cases are claims for religious dismissal arising from the employer’s refusal to allow the employees to wear a cross/crucifix in the workplace. Decision expected to be handed down 15 January 2013.
Devon Primary Care Trust v Readman – Court of Appeal
The court will decide on the test of reasonableness where an employee refuses an offer of suitable alternative employment in a redundancy situation.
Key2Law (Surrey) LLP v De’Antiquis
The Court will decide an appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal which held that the fact a company is in administration does not prevent employees transferring under TUPE.

The ETF and IDC welcomed the fact that the European Commission announced its intention not to intervene on cargo-handling and port labour. However, they remain concerned about ongoing demands by shipowners to liberalise port labour and the disproportionate influence that this group has over the views of the Commission.



In addition, they are deeply concerned over attempts at the national level to weaken organised dockers in Spain, Portugal and Greece.



The European Commission is promoting social dialogue at European level and should also encourage national governments to tackle through social dialogue the critical situations that are being experienced in some member states, notably in Portugal and Greece.



For the benefit of the whole sector, the European Commission should ensure that transparency is guaranteed, that social criteria are taken into account, and that workers’ rights are respected in the event of concessions to private operators and investors.



They urge the concerned European and Greek authorities to put an end to the way Cosco’s operations are being carried out in Piraeus, with no respect for fundamental workers’ right and freedom of association. These practices should not be tolerated and it should be ensured that European standards are guaranteed whoever the investor is in all European ports.



The two organisations are determined to defend European ports, which are the most productive in the world, for their members, the community and future generations. They remain united and vigilant, and are ready to both engage with other stakeholders and take action if necessary. They now look forward to initiating the social dialogue process, to which both organisations are committed, where they will work together for the benefit of European dockers.



The two organisations and their members are convinced that through real dialogue with social partners future industrial action can be avoided.



They therefore agreed to meet again this spring to check if any progresses on social dialogue have been made in Portugal, Greece and Spain. In the lack of any tangible progress they will decide if any there is any need to take industrial action to offer international solidarity towards the dockers involved in the above-mentioned conflicts.



They also call upon the EC to undertake an investigation to the potential anti-competitive behavior of shipping lines which are growing in power to the detriment of other port stakeholders.

We will be looking to run a course for people who would like to become a Unite workplace health & safety rep. We need a minimum of 6 people to be able to run the course.
The coursee will be for PD employees/UNITE members only, it will be ran over 5days. We will have the option for 1 day a week over 5 weeks or do it straight in 5 days.
The dates haven't been confirmed as yet, but we will no more in the coming weeks.

We are hoping to set a health and safety committee up and work with the company to achieve better workplace relations and have a safer working environment for everybody.
If you maybe interested please send us and email with your name address to [email protected]

Dock Master Saves Baby From Icy Waters

Last Updated 18:30 27/01/2013
A dock master has rescued a six-month-old baby after his buggy was blown into freezing cold waters by strong winds.

The infant, who was strapped in the buggy, was swept into the water as his mother walked along Watchet Harbour, Somerset, at 8am.

After hearing screams for help George Reeder, 63, initially thought a dog had fallen in but was horrified to see the pushchair upturned in the water.

He dived in and pulled the pushchair to the wall, before a member of the public helped attach a rope and hauled it to dry land - but not before the baby had spent around five minutes in the water.

The baby was revived by a passerby who administered CPR, before being taken to hospital, where he is believed to be out of intensive care.

Mr Reeder, who has worked at the marina for 11 years, said he heard screaming from a couple of hundred yards away before jumping on his bike to see what had happened.

He added: "I don't know exactly how he went in, but I was on the esplanade and heard the commotion and I assumed somebody's dog had gone into the water, so I went cycling over.

"They were on the West Pier, where you walk up to the lighthouse, some way away, but the noise travels and I could hear screaming from a woman.

"The mother was there and she said 'my baby has gone in the water', so I went to the edge and I could see the pushchair upside down, floating away.

"I just jumped in and pulled the pushchair back over to the edge of the quay, and then somebody put a rope down over and I tied it on and they lifted it out.

"As far as I know, what the police told me was that the wind blew the buggy in."

Mr Reeder said it was "amazing" that the baby survived, adding: "The baby was still in the pushchair, it was very cold, it is amazing really because he must have been in there for a good five minutes, under the water.

"They pulled up the pushchair and a lady started doing CPR, and then the coastguard came, and the ambulance and the police, so I backed out the way."

A local member of the coastguard took over the CPR from the woman and Mr Reeder said the baby started to take in breaths.

He said: "You could his little mouth opening and taking in a breath and that's when I thought it's ok, he's going to be ok.

"I know the family and the granddad came over and said he's out of intensive care now and on the ward.

"The poor mother, she'll probably never get over something like that, it's your worst nightmare."

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: "Police were called to the harbour in Watchet at 8.17am this morning to reports of a baby in the water.

"It is believed a gust of wind blew the buggy with the child in it into the water," he said.

"A local fisherman rescued the six month old boy and he was airlifted to hospital for treatment.

"The condition of the baby is believed to be no longer life-threatening."

Bunn is continuing its nearly 200-year legacy of agricultural service across the UK by adding PD Ports’ Teesport facility to its extensive production and distribution network. Teesport is less than a mile from the mouth of the River Tees, and offers 80,000 square feet of storage capacity that Bunn will utilise to supply the Scottish and north of England markets. The first shipment arrived on 11th January.Bunn’s selected Teesport as it offers increased distribution capabilities to the company’s existing network of eight terminals that are conveniently positioned within 100 miles of nearly all UK farmland.

With growing demand for enhanced efficiency fertilisers, the Teesport terminal will allow Bunn to supply Koch Advanced Nitrogen® fertiliser to a larger territory. The product, powered with AGROTAIN® nitrogen stabiliser, reduces the ammonia volatilisation of urea to maximise crop production as an alternative to ammonium nitrate.

UK – Freight vessels come in all shapes and configurations from containerships to LNG carriers and last week saw PD Ports welcome the world’s first purpose built wind turbine installation vessel into the Port of Hartlepool this being the first time the port operator has handled a vessel of such size at the dock. The MPI Adventure arrived at Hartlepool in late December to commence work on the Teesside Offshore Windfarm Project, for which the Port has been appointed as the main construction logistics hub.

The Teesside Offshore Windfarm Project, which is being developed by EDF Energy Renewables, requires the MPI Adventure to transport the 27 turbines, in particular the towers, Nacelles and blades, out to sea, some 1.5 kilometres off the shore of Redcar. This is expected to be completed in early spring, with over 100 people involved in the offshore construction programme operating out of the project supply base established at Hartlepool. Tim Bland, EDF Project Manager, said:

“We are pleased to welcome the MPI Adventure to the project. The vessel is much more weather tolerant than the vessel previously engaged for this work and we believe this offers the best opportunity to complete the build of the offshore Wind Turbines over the winter period.”

Peter Robinson, Managing Director at MPI Offshore Ltd., operators of the world's largest and most powerful wind turbine installation vessels, added that the company is delighted to be involved with this challenging project and are looking forward to completing the installation of the 27 wind turbines. Robinson continued by saying that MPI are proud to be part of the PD Ports and EDF Renewable Energy teams in bringing this offshore renewable energy facility to Teesside. Jerry Hopkinson, PD Ports’ Managing Director of bulks, ports and logistics,concluded:

“The arrival of the MPI Adventure highlights our capability to handle large, industry class offshore vessels at the Port of Hartlepool whilst further demonstrating our continued progression and growing strength in this sector.”

Photo: Ungainly or beautiful? The Adventure certainly stands out from the fleet.

Two of Europe’s ro-ro players hope to cut into the haulage sector’s market share and boost their revenues with an innovative ploy. P&O Ferries and Dutch ro-ro shipping line Transfennica have come together in a deal that might finally return some form of volume growth to the moribund north European ferry freight sector.

Yesterday saw the launch of a new alliance between the two companies, with Transfennica linking its Bilbao-Zeebrugge service to P&O’s services out of the Belgian port to Tilbury, Hull and Teesport, thereby creating a new ro-ro hub in northern Europe at Zeebrugge and attacking the driver-accompanied haulage market.

The deal centres on Transfennica moving from the berths it currently docks at in Zeebrugge to P&O’s two-berth facility, from where the two companies will be able to offer up to 40 sailings a week between Spain and the UK.

The companies are targeting the unaccompanied trailer sector, with hauliers able to book freight “through-tickets” as the two firms’ systems are EDI-linked, building on the moderate success that Transfennica’s Bilbao-Zeebrugge service had seen in attracting volumes away from the all-road route between Iberia and northern Europe.

P&O Ferries’ freight director Ronny Daelman said: “We have been closely watching the development of Transfennica’s service to and from Spain. As part of our strategy we are always looking for ways of expanding our portfolio of solutions to our clients. With pressure on road hauliers as it is today with the economic situation, fuel prices, the working time directive and congestion on expensive French motorways, this service is a perfect alternative to the road. We are confident that the market will welcome our co-operation.”

By linking the two operations, a trailer could move from Spain to the UK in around 50-60 hours, a P&O spokesman told The Loadstar.

“In terms of timing we think that is quite attractive, and already quite a lot of Transfennica’s traffic is UK-bound, so it makes sense to transfer much of it directly to our sailings – it exploits the strength of Zeebrugge as a hub,” he added.

A Philipino crew member aboard the Arklow Venture was involved in an incident yesterday whilst washing down the ship. The accident occured when they moved a bulk head causing 1 of the ships crew to fall 50 feet in to the hold. The man involved in the incident is suspected to have serious spinal injuries.
(More to follow.)

PD Ports welcomes the world's first purpose built wind turbine installation vessel into the Port of Hartlepool

11 January 2013

PD Ports has welcomed the world's first purpose built wind turbine installation vessel into the Port of Hartlepool. This is first time PD Ports has handled a vessel of this size at the Port of Hartlepool.

The MPI Adventure arrived at the Port in late December to commence work on the Teesside Offshore Windfarm Project, for which the Port of Hartlepool has been appointed as the main construction logistics hub.

Described as the 'next generation' of wind turbine installation vessels, the arrival of the MPI Adventure adds further credibility to PD Ports' ability to handle industry class vessels at Hartlepool, required for the size and scale of offshore wind projects.




The Teesside Offshore Windfarm Project, being developed by EDF Energy Renewables, requires the MPI Adventure to transport the 27 turbines, in particular the towers, Nacelles and blades, out to sea, some 1.5km off the shore of Redcar. This is expected to complete in early spring.
Over 100 people are involved in the offshore construction programme, operating out of the project supply base established at Hartlepool.

Jerry Hopkinson, PD Ports' managing director, bulks, ports and logistics, said: "The arrival of the MPI Adventure highlights our capability to handle large, industry class offshore vessels at the Port of Hartlepool whilst further demonstrating our continued progression and growing strength in this sector."
Peter Robinson, MD, MPI Offshore Ltd, said: "MPI is delighted to be involved with this challenging project and look forward to completing the installation of 27 wind turbines in a safe and timely manner.

"MPI is a locally based ship and construction management organisation seen as premier installer of offshore windfarms. We are proud to be part of the PD Ports and EDF Renewable Energy teams in bringing this offshore renewable energy facility to Teesside."

Tim Bland, EDF Project Manager, said "EDF are very pleased to welcome the MPI Adventure to the project. The vessel is much more weather tolerant than the vessel previously engaged for this work and we believe this offers the best opportunity to complete the build of the offshore Wind Turbines over the Winter period."