This project aims at establishing a cross-border labour Monitor on the port areas of Trieste, Monfalcone and Koper – Capodistria and their urban contexts. The first phase consists of a preliminary survey, based on bibliographical sources, documentation and oral testimonies, in order to reconstruct the development process of the three ports in the contemporary age, between 1800 and 1900. The following phase requires additional analyses, in order to update the scenario up to today. It investigates in depth the strengths and weaknesses, the similarities and differences between production systems, as well as past cooperation initiatives and their characteristics, focusing on the period after the establishment of the Republic of Slovenia. Following the entry of the Republic of Slovenia in the European Union and the creation of a cross-border area within a single market, it is now necessary to carry out studies and research that can contribute to the integration of production areas, so as to overcome the juxtaposition of the ports under examination and to contribute to their revitalisation on the international market. The port workers issue becomes pivotal in understanding the prospects for crossborder cooperation: in this sense the project illustrates the differences between various professional roles employed in the ports of Trieste, Monfalcone and Capodistria/Koper, to be used for new forms of international cooperation, also in order to contribute to the promotion of cross-border labour mobility.