Cotton told the delegates that “as Myanmar undergoes a transition towards a more democratic form of government, independent labour unions will be crucial in building a new Myanmar”.
Since 2014, thousands of people have been attempting the dangerous sea crossing to Europe, from Africa and the Middle East, in overcrowded boats not fit for purpose, with over 3,500 people having already lost their lives. Many are at the mercy of people smugglers.
That was the opening line from ITF Asia Pacific regional secretary Mahendra Sharma as training on a new dockers’ organising, bargaining and negotiating tool kicked off in Indonesia last week.
In the presence of IFOMS union activists, a large international union delegation, Tin Mar Htwe, deputy director general of the Myanmar labour department, and Toe Myint, director of the seafarers division of the ministry of transport, Cotton warmly congratulated the delegates and the newly elected
Thirty women leaders from 27 countries, members of the international ITF committee that represents women transport workers all over the globe, discussed gender approaches to key ITF campaigns on raising standards for all employees at DHL, workers’ rights at Qatar Airways, organising informal work
The ‘special agreement’, added to the three-year memorandum of agreement that runs from 2015 to 2017, will cover around 720 seafarers working on 16 vessels owned by the company.
Members from the dockers’, road transport workers, railway workers and seafarers’ sections were part of 28 April activities highlighting the ITF container safety campaign.
Available at http://goo.gl/L8AWxH the report A broader vision of seafarer wellbeing: survey of ITF maritime affiliates on HIV/AIDS, health and wellbeing questioned 34 trade unions and 608 seafarers.
Chevron’s Gorgon LNG project off Australia’s north-west coast has blown out from US$37 billion to US$54 billion due to the company’s ongoing mismanagement.
