APM Terminals Gothenburg has announced that it has signed an agreement with the staffing agency Adecco so it can hire temporary personnel to “address adhoc extra staffing needs at peak times” from October 1, 2017 onwards.
The terminal operator has been involved until now in an arrangement known in Sweden as the Blixtsystem, in which additional personnel are shared with three other port facilities in Gothenburg.
Labour disruptions in Gothenburg have been an issue in European supply chains over the past 16-18 months.
The situation still unresolved despite two attempts by mediators.
This latest move by APM Terminals Gothenburg, which handles half of Sweden’s trade, is a way to combat union action after it saw a 30% drop in volumes as a result.
Just over 300 people are currently employed temporarily on an hourly basis in the Blixtsystem.
They are shared between APM Terminals, Logent Ports & Terminals AB and Gothenburg Ro/Ro Terminal AB in the Port of Gothenburg.
APM Terminals said that all the Blixtsystem workers will be given the opportunity to apply for employment in Adecco’s staffing pool, which will also be open to new recruits.
The terminal operator plans to end its involvement in the Blixtsystem at the end of the year.
Learn why more ports and terminals are thinking of implementing automated practices in the 'Automating Ports: Mitigating Union Friction' technical paper by Olaf Merk, Administrator: Ports and Shipping, ITF/OECD
Henrik Kristensen, APM Terminals Gothenburg Managing Director (pictured above), said: “The main work carried out at our container terminal will continue to be performed by our permanent staff.
“But this collaboration with Adecco enables us to increase reliability and flexibility during those times when we require extra staffing to handle our customer requests in a faster, more responsive, customized manner.
“Like other service companies, daily workflows and customer requirements can change.
“In our business, we see weather conditions affecting ship schedules, last minute changes to supply chains or unplanned absences making it essential for us to be able to adjust the size of our workforce to keep pace with our customer requests.
“We believe this new option can translate into more customer success that will grow our business.”
Adecco Group is a Fortune 500 global HR company that partners with many major companies in Sweden and will handle the recruiting and payroll of the temporary staff working at APM Terminals Gothenburg.
Niklas Evheden, Branch Manager at Adecco in Gothenburg, said: “We are looking forward to supplying skilled personnel through our partnership with APM Terminals Gothenburg.
“We have now started recruiting new personnel, and our aim is to work closely with the company to build up an effective staffing solution for them.”
