The International Transport Workers’ Federation has issued the following news release dated August 7. The SIU is an ITF affiliate and is participating in the federation’s congress in Durban. SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel earlier this month was elected as first vice chair of the ITF’s Seafarers’ Section, moving up from second vice chair.ITF launches world ‘Ports of Convenience’ campaign
The ITF Congress has voted in Durban to launch a worldwide ‘Ports of Convenience’ campaign to ensure that decent standards apply across the world’s ports. Delegates at the ITF Congress, representing the ITF’s 624 affiliated unions – including over 200 representing dockers – backed a global push whose first focus will be on the world’s largest global network terminal operators (GNTs).
Frank Leys, Secretary of the ITF’s Dockers’ Section, explained “Our first calls will be on the ‘big four’ GNTs, because we believe they are standard setters. They have it in their power to make a huge difference to dockers’ work across the world.”
“This is an exercise in dialogue and co-operation to ensure across the board good conditions. Working with the GNTs we aim to develop global framework agreements which national unions will know set certain basic standards they can rely on when negotiating locally.”
He continued: “Allied to this industrial strategy is a political one, by which networks of support and communication are built up to tackle crises, events and trends such as casualization – replacing experienced dockers with temporary workers – at a global or regional level. These will extend beyond dockers’ unions.”
Delegates of the Dockers’ Section Conference, meeting at the ITF Congress, authorized the ITF to begin the construction of these networks, produce educational and campaigning materials, and to approach the first of the GNTs.
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