Posted on September 2, 2024
A few days before the final vote in the Hamburg Parliament on the MSC shipping company’s investment in port logistics company HHLA, hundreds of port workers have once again taken to the streets in protest. According to estimates by observers, several hundred people took part in the demonstration march from the Landungsbrücken past the town hall to the HHLA headquarters in Hafencity. The police did not initially give an official number. Many wore orange and yellow high-visibility vests and carried stop signs with the words “MSC Deal”.
In addition to Verdi banners, numerous flags and slogans from left-wing extremist organizations such as the DKP or MLPD and anarchists could be seen at the rally. In chants, the demonstrators demanded “Our port, our city, kill the MSC deal!” and “Up international solidarity!”. Some demonstrators wore Palestinian scarves, others displayed slogans such as “Freedom for Palestine!”. Police officers in protective gear accompanied the demonstration. According to the police, the protests remained peaceful, but led to traffic disruptions.
MSC to take over 49.9 percent of HHLA
Hamburg’s red-green Senate wanted to bring the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) on board in order to stabilize Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) and container handling. The city is to hold 50.1 percent and MSC 49.9 percent of the company. To date, the city has owned around 70 percent, with the remainder in free float.
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. The Swiss shipping company also wants to build a new German headquarters in Hamburg and, together with the city, increase HHLA’s equity capital by 450 million euros.
Deal should have been approved long ago
The deal was actually supposed to be approved by the Hamburg City Parliament in the last session before the summer break. However, as the opposition refused the final second reading, this will now have to take place on September 4 in the first session after the summer break. In view of the two-thirds majority of the red-green party in parliament, there is no doubt that a decision will be made in favor of the Senate.
From the perspective of Verdi and port employees, however, the deal not only endangers jobs at HHLA, but also at other port companies such as Gesamthafenbetrieb (GHB) and Lasch-Betriebe. In addition, the deal would effectively give MSC far-reaching veto rights. Experts had also warned against the deal in expert hearings, speaking of a “historic mistake”, among other things.
Resistance also from the red-green base
Resistance has also recently emerged from the red-green base. In an open letter, social democrats from the Democratic Left for the 21st Century Forum (DL21) called on SPD MPs to vote against the deal in parliament. The regional branch of the Green Youth also rejects the MSC entry. “The supposed success of a single company has no value for the prosperity of urban society,” said Berkay Gür, state spokesperson for the Green Youth, to the German Press Agency. MSC was only interested in “increasing its own salaries in the boardroom, further expanding its global position and increasing private wealth”.
The initiative “Social Democrats for HHLA in public hands” writes in its open letter: “Social experience around the world – with hospitals, energy supply, public transport and the like – shows that privatization strengthens public infrastructure: Privatizations of public infrastructure strengthen private monopoly power, place a lasting burden on state coffers and bring deterioration for employees and the population as a whole.” As part of the infrastructure, the port belongs under democratic control and must serve the economic interests of all./klm/bsp/DP/nas
