The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) issued the following news release on July 5.
Report from IBF talks, Tokyo
The ITF and Joint Negotiating Group (JNG) met in Tokyo on July 4 and 5 to continue discussions aimed at agreeing a new IBF Framework TCC Agreement following the opening round of discussions held in London in January 2017.
Both sides confirmed their support, in principle, for the outcome of officer level interim discussions held between forums, and outlined their responses to each other’s outstanding claim items. However, it became clear that there remained concerns over some core contractual demands as well as the quantum of any wage increase.
The talks therefore ended today without an agreement.
It was, however, agreed that two discussion groups will be formed to continue dialogue throughout the remainder of 2017 and to keep the lines of communication open to see if consensus can be reached between the two sides.
Commenting on the two days of difficult negotiations, David Heindel, Chair of the ITF Seafarers’ Section, who chaired the talks said: “We have made some progress, but at this stage the prospect of concluding an agreement before the current one expires looks remote. We want to keep the lines of communication open and see if we can progress matters between now and the end of the year.”
Speaking at the IBF meeting in Tokyo, the JNG Chairman, Mr. Masami Sasaki, said: “This round of negotiations have turned out to be a difficult one at a time when the industry is in a challenging economic situation, however there were commitment efforts shown by both parties. We hope to achieve a positive outcome for both parties through continued negotiation.”
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