The explosive spread of coronavirus has led to more and more countries introducing and imposing travel restrictions in an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19. Global shipping has been hit hard by the coronavirus with disruption to the industry reverberating through global supply chains and throughout the global economy.
The ITF and global union federations have urged governments and employers to urgently act to protect workers, and the global economy and society that depends upon them. The Council of Global Unions (CGU) today adopted a statement calling for urgent economic stimulus and for dialogue between unions, employers and governments to work collectively to protect workers’ health and their rights at work.
New guidelines to avoid or manage an outbreak of coronavirus on board ships are now available. They include pre-boarding screenings, isolation cabins, outbreak management plans, contact tracing, quarantine, daily cleaning and disinfection.
Seventy crew on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship off the coast of Japan have been infected with the Covid-19 virus, the International Transport Workers’ Federation report. All remaining crew, predominately Filipino and Indonesian, are to begin the process to be repatriated home in the coming days.
The breakthrough follows pressure from the ITF and FIT-CISL on the company and the Japanese government. FIT-CISL, the ITF-affiliated Italian seafarers union, hold the collective agreement onboard the Diamond Princess.
The ITF is closely following all advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO)regarding the current outbreak which originated in Wuhan city, a major domestic and international transport hub.
