seafarers

Over 200,000 river boat workers, the beating heart of Bangladesh’s critical inland waterways, have vowed to continue their campaign of industrial action until all of their 10 demands to improve pay, conditions, employment status and safety are met by the government and employers.  

Shipping action plan launched at COP27 in response to new research cautioning ‘as many as 800,000 seafarers’ due for carbon upskilling by the mid-2030s.

An opportunity to have your say on the big issues facing our maritime industries.

Uw kans om uw mening te geven over de belangrijke kwesties die spelen in de scheepvaartsector.

해양 산업이 직면한 중대한 문제에 대해 귀하가 발언할 기회.

Last year, union ship inspectors recovered more than USD $37 million in unpaid wages owed to seafarers, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has revealed in figures published today. 

The ITF’s 125 inspectors and coordinators completed 7,265 inspections in 2021 to support thousands of seafarers with wage claims and repatriation cases, despite Covid-19 restrictions preventing inspectors’ ability to board ships for much of the year.

Unions have secured an important victory in the campaign for seafarers’ safety this week as a Dutch court has ruled that ship managers, ship owners and charterers must honour a clause that prevents seafarers from being assigned dangerous lashing work where professional dock workers are available.

Responding to news that Hope Hicks has taken a case against shipping giant Maersk, seafarers’ unions are calling for employers to ensure their safe workplace policies are actually being followed, before more seafarers are driven from an industry facing crew shortages.

The ITF Seafarers’ Trust has made a USD $55,000 emergency grant to enable local unions to help the families of those who have died or are in a serious condition, following a release of noxious chlorine gas at the port of Aqaba, Jordan this week.

Saturday 25 June is the official IMO Day of the Seafarer and today, the ITF global family of seafarers' unions celebrated online and all across the world.

Here are some highlights ⤵️

Online

The ITF Seafarers' Section coordinated an online activity for seafarers to share their stories (and pictures) about their own #SeafarerJourney, and to let us know how they thought the industry had changed from when they first started, compared to now.