From the International Transport Workers’ Federation, to which the SIU is affiliated. SIU President David Heindel, who also serves as Chair of the ITF Seafarers’ Section, is quoted in the release, which is dated October 18.
‘Marrakech Policy’ sets bar for ITF to improve conditions for maritime workers
The ITF’s campaign on Flags of Convenience takes major step forward with new standard for international seafarers’ rights and working conditions.
The ‘Marrakech Policy,’ adopted today at the International Transport Workers’ Federation’s (ITF) Joint Seafarers’ and Dockers’ Conference, now forms the governing framework for the global union’s campaigning work on Flags of Convenience (FOC).
The policy is the culmination of five years’ work by union representatives from ITF maritime affiliates to examine, plan and develop a new strategy in line with the shifting reality faced by seafarers since 2010 – when the preceding Mexico City Policy was adopted at the ITF’s 42nd Congress in Mexico City.
The Marrakech Policy sets out the minimum conditions the ITF and its affiliated unions will accept on FOC merchant ships, incorporating the new understanding of the critical importance of global supply chains that emerged out of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the central role for shipping and seafarers in combating climate change through a just transition.
The Marrakech Policy will now form the baseline for the ITF’s Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA), which set the wages and working conditions for crews on FOC vessels, irrespective of nationality.
Seafarers Section Chair, David Heindel, who Co-Chairs the ITF’s Fair Practices Committee, said: “There is a lot of focus in shipping on the need for sustainability, and we warmly welcome this. But shipping can never be truly sustainable if it does not respect the labor rights of the seafarers without whom shipping and global trade can’t function.
“As we have done for so many years, the ITF will continue to fight for a better future for seafarers on FOC ships, and we won’t rest until we’ve secured it – and I’m proud that the new Marrakech Policy now sets the framework for this crucial work.”
Crucially, the policy also highlights the importance of cooperation and solidarity between dockers and seafarers that ensures seafarers are not forced to do dockers’ work and protects dockers from the erosion of their jurisdiction over their work. ITF Dockers’ Section Chair and Co-Chair of the ITF’s Fair Practices Committee, Paddy Crumlin, emphasised the importance of this.
“For dockers, the inclusion of the Non-Seafarers’ Work Clause in the CBAs isn’t just about job security, it’s about safety – both for dockers and for seafarers,” he said.
“Companies are trying to cut corners, making seafarers do lashing, putting them at serious risk. We’ve fought against this before, and we’ll continue to fight against any shipowner who puts seafarers’ lives in danger.”
The ITF’s campaign against FOCs is governed by the Fair Practices Committee – a joint committee made up of dockers’ and seafarers’ unions. The support of ITF-affiliated dockers’ unions has long been crucial to the ITF’s FOC campaign, with dockers providing the solidarity action that helps ensure shipping companies are brought to the table to negotiate better conditions for seafarers. The solidarity of seafarers’ unions is equally important in ensuring that dockers’ rights are respected through ITF’s Ports of Convenience (POC) campaign.
The challenges faced by seafarers and dockers are not abstract: seafarers deal with relentless fatigue from long hours, wage theft, abandonment in foreign ports, criminalization for events beyond their control, and being burdened with lashing duties, traditionally the work of dockers.
Dockers face a concerted attack on their jurisdiction, particularly around lashing, automation and digitalization, and threats to their jobs and safety.
“The attacks on our rights aren’t going away, but neither are we,” said Crumlin. “We’re dockers. We’re seafarers. We move the world, and it’s time companies recognize that they can’t exploit us without consequences.
‘Whether it’s fighting abandonment or defending dockers’ jobs, we stand united.”
Heindel said: “Shipping and port companies that are out to undermine seafarers and dockers so they can boost their own profits are on notice: we won’t stand for it, and we will do whatever it takes to secure our rights and the fair pay and conditions we deserve.”
The Marrakech Policy also deepens cooperation between ITF-affiliated unions, especially those from ship-owning and labor-providing countries, creating a more united front in the fight for better conditions.
At the end of the Conference, the ITF extended its deep thanks and solidarity to five recipients of ITF Gold Awards, given in recognition of their exceptional service: Mykhailo Kirieiev, Marine Transport Workers’ Trade Union of Ukraine (MTWTU); Johan Oyen, Norwegian Seafarers’ Union (NSU); Remo di Fiore, Federazione Italiana Trasporti (FIT-CIS, Italy); Severino Almeida Filho, Sindicato Nacional Dos Oficiais Da Marinha Mercante (SINDMAR, Brazil); Christy Cain, Maritime Union of Australia (MUA); ; Willie Adams, International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU, USA).
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