ITF inspector Mohamed Arrachedi has raised the alarm over the case of the Panama-flagged, Turkish-owned Seahonest (IMO 9142100) whose crew has been stranded unpaid and unprovisioned in the Port of Algiers for seven months.
ITF president Paddy Crumlin said: “From tomorrow the mechanisms will be in place for a huge change that will finally treat the running sore of crew abandonment. At last the fundamental idea that those who send seafarers to sea have a responsibility for them is enshrined in regulation.”
The workers’ union, Unite the Union, has been trying to raise the issue for over a year and said it had received no response to its letter to Peel Ports on 6 December.
A record 300 delegates from across France participated in the 11th congress of the Federation of Equipment, Environment, Transport and Services FORCE OUVRIERE (FEETS-FO) from January 31 to February 2.
ITF seafarers’ section chair David Heindel stated: “This is an urgent and dangerous affair for these seafarers, and a deeply worrying time for their families. It requires a speedy response.
The system to give migrant workers legal status and protect their rights was introduced in early 2016 after a collaboration between the ITF and a number of media agencies exposed the extent of exploitation in the Irish fishing industry.
Over 200 participants from across the region will meet in Tunis from 13-16 February – the conference kicks off with a day focused on building strategy for increased engagement of women workers and young transport workers in union activity in the Arab World.
More than 200 trade unionists from across the region will meet in Tunisia this week to assess their achievements and challenges, and to set their work agenda for the next 18 months.
The Arab World has the most quickly growing membership rates across the ITF.
Seafarers’ rights have various sources, including Flag State law, Port State law, your contract of employment, and international law, including through the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Describing itself as the Ukrainian National Platform of Maritime Trade Unions, the new group is touting for business by promising to undercut agreed and negotiated conditions.
