Docker

Names

There exist various names according to the areas of the world, even the ports of the same country, to appoint the dockers. The word docker , contraction of English dockworker (literally, “workman of the port”), is recognized in the majority of the ports. The term Débardeur is used with the Quebec. With Marseilles inter alia, the term of portefaix was used for designer the corporation which worked on the Old port during the navy with veil which did not have only one role of unloading or loading of the goods but also a specialization in knowledge of the quality of the handled product, the portefaix represented also the interest of the trader " Portefaix" Master; and had also the role to convey the goods in the stores.

The terms of acconiers (or lightermen ) and of stevedores recover similar concepts but nevertheless different from a legal point of view. The acconier with the responsibility for the guarding of the stored goods " under hangar and ground plein". Whereas the stevedores take for it the responsability only at the time for handling " Under palen". The acconiers are in general the companies working in the ports of the Mediterranean. But both are the employers of the dockers on the ports.

History

The dockers often gave the indication of “large arm”, which was often deserved in the past, where many goods were transported in bags, with back of man. Only the very bulky goods, or in bulk, were charged by crane S. the dockers borrowed the Coupée to go up aboard ship and discharged their cargo from the holds.

During second half of the 20th century, the modernization of the Maritime transport radically changed the profession. The ships remain now with quay one day, even two, against many days before. Automation (for example with the Container S) accelerates the movements and obliged the dockers to acquire more competences. They must be able to operate a crane or a Lifting truck, to seize containers, etc

The profession also changed during the twenty last years: the dockers worked as daily intermittent professional workmen with multiple employers, but are henceforth professional workmen paten on a monthly basis in a company of handling or a consortium, supplemented by workmen occasional dockers in the event of great multitude of the ships (Law of June 9th, 1992). In almost the whole of the ports of the world, the workmen dockers were always represented by powerful trade unions with a strong rate of unionization.

Organization of the profession

The dockers are in general divided into teams, of variable sizes according to the size of the ship, time that this one remains with quay, the nature of the cargo, etc the dockers can work, either over one day's work normal, or over periods of four or eight hours of at a stretch. According to the Tide S, certain ships must be discharged from night.

Related professions

Operations

Terminal carrier

The dockers deal with the loading of the Voiture S, Camion S, Remorque S and various Véhicule S on board the carrier S and conveying of vehicles. On the latter, the dockers are divided into various teams:

a team “cars” which deals with the loading/unloading of light vehicles; it includes/understands 15 to 25 drivers typically, from six to ten Accoreur S, two dockers guiding the cars on their final site, two or three drivers of vans or “estafettes” bringing back the drivers to the carparks.
a team “heavy trucks” made up of ten drivers, of some accoreurs and a guidor, as well as driver of van.
on the quay, various people deal with opening the carparks, starting the cars and to enter those which leave or arrive; on the most advanced ports, this is done by the reading of a Code-bars placed on a sticker on the windshield.
in the ship, two to three dockers deal with controlling the traffic on the slopes, in particular in the zones with low visibility, and a pointer supervising the loading plan and ensuring the connection with the crew.

Unloading lasts only a few hours; the loading is on the other hand longer because the vehicles are positioned precisely, with a few centimetres from/to each other, in order to optimize the use of the space of the bridges: the vehicles are stored until on the hinged slopes. During positioning, the driver looks at only the guide, which takes the responsibility in the event of damage then: the customer can ask for a compensation for a simple scratch.

Among the risks incurred by the dockers, the rupture of a strap or the bad stowing of a chain is potentially very dangerous because of their great tension. Another important danger is the drowsiness of a driver during a rotation of night.

Propping

The Propping, i.e. the fixing of the vehicles, is an extremely important task: if a vehicle moves during the voyage during a blow of Roulis, it is the whole ship which is danger.

The cars are accorées by using four straps, two with before and two with the back, are connected to a ring of towing (possibly removable if it is not included by defect on the car): on the basis of the ring, the straps are connected to the bridge on both sides of the vehicle by a hook.

The trailers are posed on Tréteau X and crutches, their wheels are immobilized by holds. They are then fixed by chain S, four with before and two with the back. The installation of a chain is more complicated than that of a strap: the chain is initially connected on one side to remrorque, other with the bridge, then tended using a Brimbale and fixed in position by a hook placed in a link. A kick makes it possible to check the good tension. The heavier machines such as the Bus or the Tracteur S can require to twenty chains.

Illustrations of the loading of a carrier

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