rights

Public transport workers move us all

Mark_D — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 16:02:05 +0000

Public transport workers move us all

On World Public Transport Day, the ITF and ETF celebrate the vital role of workers, trade unions and passengers.

In every country, all around the world, public transport is the beating heart that keeps our cities moving – whether it’s the workers who sustain public transport or the passengers who depend on it, billions of people rely on this most vital of public services.

World Public Transport Day, an annual celebration of the social, environmental, and economic benefits of public transport – organised by the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) – exists to recognise this truth: that public transport is vital for our cities, and for our hopes of realising climate and economic justice.

“On World Public Transport Day, we celebrate everyone – from public transport workers to trade unions and passengers – who is committed to a social model of public transport based on climate and economic justice,” said International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) Urban Transport Chair, Eric Campos.

“But we also call for the investment in operations and infrastructure that we need and the crucial role of trade unions in ensuring that we can achieve this.”

Workers have always been at the heart of achieving sustainable, safe, efficient and accessible public transport.

It is the drivers, conductors, maintenance workers, ticket sellers, station staff, office workers and cleaners who keep our cities moving every day.

It is these workers who take pride in providing a public service which gets passengers to their jobs, schools, shops, families and recreation activities. And it is these workers who protect the health and safety of passengers, who are there in emergencies when people need them, and who are always on hand to help the elderly, the disabled and the vulnerable to access the public transport services they depend on.

“Alongside the passengers who need public transport every day, there are millions of public transport workers, both directly employed and sub-contracted, who depend on their jobs for their livelihoods – the workers who provide this high quality service need and deserve high quality jobs,” said Dirk Schlömer Chair of the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) Urban Public Transport Committee.

“But to maintain public transport, we need investment. And there is no doubt that sustainable investment in expanding and improving public transport is an investment in our collective future.”

Without well trained public transport workers, the safety and efficiency of our public transport services is in jeopardy. That, in turn, threatens the realisation of economic and climate justice.

The ITF and the ETF are united in our demands for sustainable investment in public transport operations and infrastructure. It must include:

Plans to address staffing shortfalls and recruit women and young workers
Re-training for workers, including on the use of electric vehicles and other new technologies
Improving pay and conditions to recruit and retain a skilled workforce
Creating safe and gender-equal workplaces
Incorporating informal public transport services into integrated, formal systems which guarantee secure and decent jobs
Pushing for a modal shift that places mass public transport as the priority in urban transport systems to guarantee that everyone can have equal access to the city

In all of this, the role of trade unions must be paramount.

Trade unions give public transport workers a collective voice to defend and win their rights in their workplaces all around the world. Recognising and bargaining with trade unions, and involving them in decision-making from the outset, is critical to ensuring an understanding of and mutually beneficial collaboration with the public transport workforce. And by fighting for better working conditions, trade unions also play a critical role in employee retention for public transport companies

The ITF and the ETF deeply value their ongoing social dialogue relationship with UITP and its members to improve conditions for workers worldwide, and to ensure a just transition for the public transport workforce.

During Covid-19, UITP recognised public transport workers as the ‘Guardians of Mobility’ who kept essential services running despite the health risk to themselves. And now, just as during Covid-19, trade unions’ engagement with public transport authorities, companies and local and national governments everywhere must ensure that a social model of public transport keeps our cities moving, and that we move towards realising true economic and climate justice.

Mark_D 16 Apr 2026

public transport

health and safety

rights

gender inequality

Urban Transport

Global

ITF celebrates anniversary of landmark global treaty for seafarers

Mark_D — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 12:56:37 +0000

ITF celebrates anniversary of landmark global treaty for seafarers

The ITF played a leading role in securing the now 20-year-old Maritime Labour Convention – and it continues to advocate for its implementation and updating to protect seafarers’ rights

Before 2006, the global protection of seafarers’ rights rested on a patchwork of more than 60 maritime labour conventions and ‘recommendations’: few were ratified, some overlapped, and many were outdated by the rapid changes taking place in the global shipping industry.

From the perspective of protecting seafarers’ rights, these gaps were not simply legislative loopholes – their cost could be counted in the human and labour rights abuses faced by the workers who play a central role in keeping the world and its trading relationships moving forward.

In a uniquely international industry, the aim of bringing disparate, unenforced rules into a unified, global treaty – the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC) – was no mean feat. And it was one that required cooperation and coherence from seafarers’ trade unions, governments and ship owners.

The result of this landmark effort is one of the most significant global labour treaties ever created: a convention with ‘teeth’ that offers a unique level of enforcement, with ratifying states able to detain vessels regardless of the flag they fly, and one that has fundamentally altered the working conditions of seafarers everywhere – and which, crucially, continues to be improved and enhanced through concerted advocacy on behalf of seafarers.

“The significance of the Maritime Labour Convention simply cannot be overstated – it is without doubt one of the world’s most important international labour treaties,” said ITF General Secretary, Stephen Cotton.

“The concerted advocacy that took place to bring the MLC into being is one of the most important international efforts made by the ITF in its long and storied history – one that also demonstrates social dialogue at its best, with trade unions working alongside business and governments to produce genuinely enforceable, global rules to protect workers.

“But as global shipping continues to evolve, so too does the ITF’s mission to protect seafarers and, in turn, the need for the MLC to continuously improve.”

The ITF was at the forefront of the efforts to bring the MLC into being – alongside the International Chamber of Shipping, representing ship owners, and the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO). To this day, the ITF and its affiliated maritime trade unions continue to work closely with these partners.

Today, the ITF Seafarers’ Trust, an independent UK charity supported by the investment income of the ITF International Assistance, Welfare and Protection Fund, also announced that it is awarding EUR500,000 (USD 587,213) of funding to the ILO to support institutional capacity building to enhance protection of seafarers’ rights in the Middle East.

Former Nautilus UK General Secretary and ITF Seafarers’ Section Chair, Brian Orrell, played a leading role in the ITF’s efforts to secure the MLC.

“While the objective of creating a unique single maritime instrument to replace all those existing at the time was ambitious, the work of the ITF with shipowners and governments was instrumental in securing unanimous adoption twenty years ago,” he explained.

“That the MLC 2006 remains as relevant and important today as it was twenty years ago rests with the foresight of the ITF in securing an agreement – a first within any ILO instrument – on a rapid amendment procedure enabling the instrument to be more easily reviewed and updated. Looking back over the past twenty years, the importance of these procedures in ensuring that the rights of seafarers were delivered has been demonstrated time and again.”

The ability to amend the MLC has proved pivotal. Regularly referred to as a ‘bill of rights’ for seafarers, it sets a floor or minimum level for international standards on seafarers’ labour rights. Amendments made after the MLC came into force in 2013 – via the same formula of tripartite negotiations – include the coverage of vital issues for seafarers such as abandonment, violence and harassment, protecting victims of piracy and, most recently, the 2025 classification of seafarers as ‘key workers’, among others.

“It’s crucial to remember that the MLC is a ‘living instrument’ which must be continuously improved,” said Mark Dickinson, Nautilus International General Secretary, ITF Seafarers’ Section Second Vice Chair, and Seafarer Vice-Chairperson at the Special Tripartite Committee of the MLC.

“Just as the maritime industry continues to evolve and new threats to seafarers’ rights and working conditions emerge, so too must we come together to ensure the MLC adapts to ensure that seafarers are protected at all times, in all their areas of work.

“After 20 years of the MLC, it’s important that we look back and reflect on a landmark achievement – but it’s even more important that this legacy is reflected in our ongoing work to ensure the MLC continues to protect every seafarer, everywhere.”

ENDS

Mark_D 20 Feb 2026

abandonment

human rights

maritime labour convention

ITF and Dominican Republic come together to improve labour conditions

Mark_D — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 15:21:00 +0000

ITF and Dominican Republic come together to improve labour conditions

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is forging a new partnership with the Dominican Republic through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Labor, aimed at promoting the protection of labour rights, reinforcing social dialogue, and improving working conditions in the country’s transport sector.

Under the agreement, the ITF and the Dominican Republic commit to work closely together to ensure nationwide compliance with labour legislation and international labour standards, particularly in sectors such as transport, logistics, and tourism — areas characterised by high labour mobility and significant relevance to the national economy.

"The signing of this MoU represents a new achievement in the region and constitutes a key instrument to advance decent work and ensure that transformations in the transport sector take place with social justice and trade union participation,” said David Massiah, ITF Tourism Chair.

The agreement establishes a cooperation framework designed to develop joint actions that strengthen social dialogue, improve occupational safety and health conditions, and promote technical and professional training for workers, trade union leaders, and institutional actors.

A central pillar of the agreement is collaboration aimed at preventing and eliminating unacceptable forms of work, such as child labour, forced labour, and human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation. The ITF will contribute studies, data, and methodologies that facilitate the detection and eradication of these practices. In addition, it will promote research initiatives to analyse emerging trends and strengthen evidence-based policymaking.

Edgar Díaz, ITF Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Secretary, said: “With this alliance, the ITF reaffirms its role as a global actor in defending the rights of transport workers. It also positions the Dominican Republic at the forefront of an international network dedicated to promoting fair, safe, and sustainable working conditions.”

In accordance with the MoU, the ITF and the Ministry of Labor will designate focal points for coordination, develop joint work plans, and establish monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to measure the labour and social impact of the actions implemented. The agreement, which is non-binding and has an indefinite duration, creates a stable platform for ongoing cooperation between the federation and the Dominican State.

The document was signed by the Minister of Labor, Eddy Olivares Ortega, and ITF Deputy General Secretary, Rob Johnston, with the participation of Edgar Díaz, ITF Regional Secretary, David Massiah, Chair of the ITF Tourism Section, Santiago Zamora, member of the ITF Global Tourism Committee, Ricardo de los Santos, President of FENATRADO, and Jacobo Ramos Crispín, President of the CNTD and FENATRAZONAS.

Mark_D 09 Feb 2026

ITF condemns assault on ITF Inspector onboard vessel

Mark_D — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 10:41:49 +0000

ITF condemns assault on ITF Inspector onboard vessel

Ship’s master reacts with violence as inspector defends seafarers’ rights in Le Havre, France

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) strongly condemns the assault of ITF Inspector Corine Archambaud while carrying out her official duties onboard the MV BF CARP at MSC Terminal, Le Havre.

During a scheduled inspection to verify crew complaints under the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006) and ILO Conventions 87 and 98, the vessel’s Master physically confronted Archambaud, attempting to forcibly seize her documents.

The inspector was left shaken, with her documents torn, and had to call for immediate assistance from the French maritime police.

The assault took place on 6 September after the Master responded aggressively to legitimate questions about concerns over inadequate food and water provisions onboard, and seafarers being compelled to carry out dockers’ work – lashing and unlashing of cargo, and plugging and unplugging of ‘reefers’ (refrigerated containers) – without compensation.

“I faced a frightening physical confrontation with this Master simply for standing up for seafarers’ rights – as it is my job to do,” said Archambaud of the assault.

“The pure aggression he showed in standing over me as I sat and aggressively seizing my documents from my hands was shocking – he was so forceful in seizing the documents that my fingernails ripped as I tried to hold on to them. I’ve never encountered this kind of behaviour, and it’s left me shaken. It was clearly meant to intimidate and stop me from standing up for the crew, but it didn’t work.”

ITF Inspectorate Coordinator Steve Trowsdale said: “This unacceptable act of violence not only obstructed a lawful ITF inspection, but it also raises serious concerns about the treatment of the crew at this Master’s hands.”

The ITF calls on BF Foroohi, the shipowner, Marlow Navigation, the crewing manager, and the flag state, Antigua and Barbuda, to take urgent and decisive action.

“Violence and intimidation have no place in international shipping. All seafarers and Inspectors must be guaranteed safe conditions, free from harassment and retaliation,” added Trowsdale.

The ITF reaffirms its solidarity with the crew of the BF CARP and with all seafarers and Inspectors who courageously raise their voices against seafarer exploitation.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Find out more about the ITF’s FOC campaign here.

About the ITF:  The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is a democratic, affiliate-led federation recognised as the world’s leading transport authority. We fight passionately to improve workers’ lives, connecting more than 730 affiliated trade unions from over 150 countries to secure rights, equality and justice for workers globally. We are the voice for more than 16.5 million transport workers across the world.

Media contact: Mark Dearn +44 7738 832 413 media@itf.org.uk 

Mark_D 28 Nov 2025

New Flags of Convenience: Dominica, The Gambia, Niue

Mark_D — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 12:11:42 +0000

New Flags of Convenience: Dominica, The Gambia, Niue

ITF adds three new flags to long-standing open registry list

Dominica, The Gambia and Niue are the latest flags added to the International Transport Workers’ Federation’s (ITF) long-standing ‘Flags of Convenience’ list.

The three flags were added to the FOC list at a meeting of the ITF’s Fair Practices Committee – bringing together seafarers' and dockers’ unions from around the world – in Athens, Greece, last week.

The additions bring the total number of FOC flags to 48 countries.

“We’ve been monitoring ships sailing under these three flags this year, and after carrying out the necessary due diligence we can confirm their designation as new Flags of Convenience,” said Steve Trowsdale, ITF Inspectorate Coordinator.

“If you are a flag state and you take registration fees, then you have an obligation to ensure the rights of seafarers on vessels under your flag are respected – let there be no doubt that the ITF is watching and that our global network of inspectors will do everything in their power to protect the seafarers on these vessels.”

The ITF defines an FOC ship as one flying the flag of a country other than its actual ownership.

The Gambia: from having zero tankers in 2023 to more than 35 by early this year, the registry is strongly associated with the ‘dark fleet’. Research showed that 99% of its tankers were under sanctions or believed to be carrying sanctioned commodities, although Gambia now claims to be vetting the registry.
Niue: the registry opened in 2012, but as of this year ITF data shows that where ownership of its 59 vessels can be confirmed it is spread across Asian states including Singapore (16), Malaysia (2), Japan (2), Indonesia (7), India (1), Hong Kong (1) and Thailand (1), in addition to the Netherlands (1).
Dominica: of the registry’s 43 ships, 30 ships have ownership in the UAE (7), India (7), Kazakhstan (3), Saudi Arabia (2), USA (2), Barbados (2) and Norway (2), in addition to Australia (1), Cyprus (1), Finland (1), Great Britain (1) and Guinea-Conakry (1).

The ITF's maritime unions have developed a set of policies that seek to establish minimum acceptable standards for seafarers working on FOC vessels, which account for around 30% of the more than 100,000 merchant vessels operating worldwide.

These standards form the basis of the ITF’s CBAs, which set the wages and working conditions for crews on FOC vessels irrespective of nationality – just over 47% of all FOC vessels are covered by ITF collective bargaining agreements. Compliance with ITF agreements is monitored by a network of 130 ITF inspectors and contacts in more than 125 ports throughout the world.

The ITF Fair Practices Committee governs the ITF’s FOC campaign – first launched in Oslo in 1948 – including the addition and removal of flag states from the FOC list.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Find out more about the ITF’s FOC campaign here.

Media contact: Mark Dearn +44 7738 832 413 media@itf.org.uk  

Mark_D 25 Nov 2025

World Toilet Day: real action needed now to turn rights into reality

Mark_D — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 16:34:09 +0000

World Toilet Day: real action needed now to turn rights into reality

Ensuring transport workers, especially women, have safe access to decent sanitation is critical for ensuring health, safety and dignity at work.

Real action is needed now to end the crisis of a continuing lack of safe access to decent sanitation facilities – that is the message from transport trade unionists from around the world marking World Toilet Day today (November 19).

The ongoing failure to ensure safe access to decent sanitary facilities, sanitation systems, and most importantly the ability to use those facilities when needed, is an affront to human dignity that is widely and deeply felt by all transport workers. 

However, it causes particular problems for women transport workers, putting them at risk of violence, harassment, stigma and ill health – it denies women of dignity and is effectively a barrier to employment. For maritime workers, a number of specific issues are consistently highlighted, all of which can and must be urgently resolved.

“Women seafarers are accustomed to a reality where we can’t find the menstrual products we need on board a ship, what we need to dispose of those products, or even the access to a toilet near where we are stationed – and, sadly, too often these issues just aren’t taken seriously,” said Lorena Pintor Silva, International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) Seafarers’ Section Women’s Representative, and member of SINDMAR, Brazil.

The continuing lack of safe access to sanitation threatens the seafaring industry as a whole as it faces an entrenched recruitment and retention crisis.

Pintor Silva added: “Women seafarers know these experiences well, how we have to pack supplies of sanitation products to last months at sea, how we fear asking for what we need onboard because of how we know some of our male crew members will respond. It creates stigma for women – and that means women seafarers being turned away from a life at sea.”

A crucial recent win for maritime workers was a Maritime Labour Convention amendment won after a joint International Labour Organization-International Maritime Organization Tripartite meeting in April 2025. Guideline B3.1.10, due to come into force in December 2027, states that “appropriate and sufficient menstrual hygiene products and means of disposal should be available for seafarers”. 

While legislative wins like the MLC amendment are vital steps forward, safe access to sanitation remains a profound challenge for maritime workers globally.

“We’ve seen some improvements for women dockers, but far too few and only in particular locations,” said Jessica Isbister, ITF Dockers’ Section Women’s Representative, and member of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), Canada.

“So, while we’ve seen some real change in Canada, for many women dockers around the world, the struggle to turn legal rights into lived reality is real and goes on every day. This is precisely why we must use World Toilet Day as an opportunity to remind governments, companies and investors that we urgently need change that meets the specific needs of women, transgender and non-binary workers.”

This need for change extends beyond ports to other maritime sectors, highlighting that this is a systemic issue across the maritime industry.

“Women working on tugboats and on our inland waterways face precisely the same problems as women working at sea – what we are demanding are not luxuries, they should be ours by right,” said Olga Losinskaya, ITF Inland Navigation Section Women’s Representative, and member of ver.di, Germany.

“This is about respect for women’s rights and the provision of a safe and healthy workplace – how many more times must we come out and demand that our basic human dignity is respected?”

Tools to win: the ITF Sanitation Charter and Toolkit

To ensure that these demands of dignity and safety become a reality for maritime workers – and transport workers across all sectors – the ITF has produced essential resources for unions and activists on the ground.

On World Toilet Day 2019, the ITF launched its Transport Workers Sanitation Charter to outline its key demands.  These include:

Access to secure and clean toilets for women and men, which are well lit inside and outside
Ventilated, lockable cubicles
Appropriate hygiene (washing) facilities with clean water
Affordable and appropriate menstrual hygiene products provided
Paid rest breaks for transport workers who should be able to access toilets when they need them during working hours - without delay, and with no loss of income

The ITF's Sanitation Toolkit provides trade unionists, activists, and transport workers with the practical resources, research and campaign materials needed to turn the demands of the Charter into reality. It is a vital, living resource to help unions negotiate for and win sanitation rights in workplaces globally.

Find the full ITF Sanitation Toolkit here: sanitation.itfglobal.org

Mark_D 18 Nov 2025

Sustained, joint action needed to end seafarer “human rights crisis”

Mark_D — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 13:36:16 +0000

Sustained, joint action needed to end seafarer “human rights crisis”

Joint work to end worsening seafarer criminalisation and unfair treatment on the agenda at London event – organised by ITF, ILO, IMO and ICS

The maritime industry must come together now to take action to end the worsening crisis of seafarer criminalisation and unfair treatment – that was the clear message at last week’s criminalisation event at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) joined the IMO in co-hosting the event, held as seafarer criminalisation and unfair treatment cases are increasing. The event also followed on from the incorporation of new ILO-IMO ‘Guidelines on fair treatment of seafarers detained in connection with alleged crimes’ into the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006 two weeks ago.

“Our challenge today is not to leave feeling good that we’ve said all the right things – what are we going to do that’s concrete?” asked ITF General Secretary, Stephen Cotton, in one of a series of panels which were all live-streamed and are now available to watch on YouTube.

“We have pillars of cooperation built over years in the maritime industry,” said Cotton. “They help us to have the confidence that if we say we can build a better system, we can deliver it. We find a way to deliver solutions.”

Unjust seafarer criminalisation and unfair treatment takes place across a range of issues, including narcotics found on vessels – a major topic of the event, and the focus of the new Guidelines – to incidents of marine pollution, and maritime accidents at sea and in ports.

Seafarer Mithun Deshpande was one of the speakers at the event. He was serving onboard the Panama-flagged MT Riah when it was seized by Iranian authorities in the Straits of Hormuz in 2019.

Deshpande was an observer, due to take command after the discharge of oil that would have completed the planned voyage from Sohar, Oman, to Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates. While other crew members were released after the seizure, the captain, chief engineer and Deshpande were detained in jail in Iran for 49 months for illegally trafficking oil – with a USD1.2 million fine levied for his release, and the ship-owning company cutting contact with them after the fine was tabled.

“We endured prolonged detention without due process, without timely consular access and with no legal resources,” said Deshpande, who thanked the Indian Government, the ITF, and ITF affiliate, the Maritime Union of India, for their assistance.

“For 49 months, our families, parents, spouses, children, lived in emotional turmoil and financial hardship. We were not criminals, we were seafarers – but we were forgotten and treated as disposable.

“Let this not become another forgotten case, let this become a turning point.”

Corinne Vargha, Director of the International Labour Standards Department at the ILO, noted the sad reality that while many are interested in the economy of the maritime industry, they do not have the same interest in the seafarers who keep it running.

“This is a real labour crisis, a human rights crisis,” she explained. “We need to be doing much better at preventing seafarers from becoming detained.”

“When we are coordinated, as we are with the IMO, ITF and ICS, we can do really impactful work. We need to be doing that more, with more focus and strategy.”

Vargha explained the significance of the Guidelines now being referred to in the MLC: it will trigger regular monitoring of action taken by states by an ILO committee of experts.

ITF research shows 33 cases of criminalisation and unfair treatment of seafarers since 2023: what is an old problem is also a growing one, a point agreed on by all in attendance.

In recent months, the ITF has drawn attention to the case of the captain and chief mate of the Phoenician-M, jailed in Turkey, and the master, first officer and bosun of the Lastovo ferry, facing criminal charges in Croatia.

In the case of the Phoenician-M, drugs were found on the ship in Turkey, yet while there was no evidence tying them to the crew, the captain and chief mate are now serving 30-year sentences.

In Croatia, investigations by the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure and the Maritime Accident Investigation Agency exonerated the Lastovo crew and instead blamed state-owned company Jadrolinija Rijeka’s management for the tragedy. However, it is the seafarers who now face criminal charges.

“Quite often seafarers are used as political pawns in areas which have nothing to do with them at all – we saw that with the Galaxy Leader,” said former ICS Secretary General, Guy Platten. “We have got to keep highlighting that they are just people who want to go to work and want to come home to their families.”

“Sadly, the problem is getting worse, and we have to acknowledge that. Seafarers’ rights are human rights, and they need to be protected.”

IMO Secretary General, Arsenio Dominguez, outlined his determination in ensuring that the IMO tackles criminalisation and unfair treatment.

“Seafarers are top of the agenda for the IMO,” he said. “The main focus of what we’re looking at is to ensure due process is given to the seafarers – that they get all the assistance and advice that is required.”

Crucially, Dominguez pointed to the need for accountability, alongside collaboration from those in the industry.

“We can’t back down – seafarers are still not given their place. We need to look at accountability – the flag state, port state, the nationality of seafarers.

“Everyone has a role to play.”

Mark_D 27 Jun 2025

Seafarers officially recognised as ‘key workers’ after successful Geneva negotiations

Mark_D — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 11:36:19 +0000

Seafarers officially recognised as ‘key workers’ after successful Geneva negotiations

Landmark changes to the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) mean seafarers are officially recognised as ‘key workers’ by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The Seafarers’ Group at the ILO led by International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) affiliates has won a raft of significant changes to seafarers’ rights in Geneva this week.

Seafarers are now referenced as ‘key workers’, marking a major step forward in seafarers’ rights and coming after a week of intense negotiations between the ILO, governments, shipowners and seafarers.

This new status, backed by a resolution calling for its early recognition, seeks to ensure that seafarers receive better protection, easier access to medical care and travel, and stronger support at all times.

The ITF has advocated for seafarers to be recognised as key workers since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020.

Seafarers’ Group spokesperson and ITF Seafarers’ Section Vice Chair, Mark Dickinson, said: “For the first time in any ILO instrument we have a reference in the Code to seafarers as key workers. How seafarers were treated during Covid-19 has not been forgotten, and we have made sure, as best we can, that it won’t be repeated.

“We’ve also secured strong commitments from governments on the treatment of seafarers on shore leave, repatriation and access to medical care.”

Among 16 proposed changes tabled by governments, shipowners and the Seafarers’ Group at the ILO Special Tripartite Committee (STC), the key focus was on enhancing support for seafarers' wellbeing, including clearer regulations for shore leave and better health protocols onboard ships.

Crucially, commitments on preventing and eliminating violence and harassment have been strengthened via new MLC provisions that will seek to eradicate unacceptable behaviour.

Dickinson explained the changes won on hours of work and rest – which will now be discussed jointly at the ILO-International Maritime Organization (IMO) Tripartite Working Group after a resolution endorsing this passed – and the criminalisation of seafarers.

“We also secured a commitment to further action on hours of work and rest, and we anticipate that future discussions will address the lack of enforcement of the existing regulations and exemptions – but also, in cooperation with the IMO, review the current rest and work hour limits to reduce fatigue,” he said.

“The guidelines on the Fair Treatment of Seafarers are now referenced in a mandatory standard in the Code obliging governments to take due account of the guidance covering maritime accidents and alleged crimes.

“This is really significant in our continued fight against the unjust treatment and criminalisation of seafarers.”

At the end of the week, five further resolutions were also put forward. These included plans to extend the mandate of the ILO-IMO joint tripartite working group to continue work on ‘human element’ issues such as seafarer abandonment and fatigue.

“The maritime industry faces skills, recruitment and retention crises – and seafarers will not join a fragmented industry where abuses go unchecked and where fatigue and criminalisation are rife,” said ITF Seafarers’ Section Coordinator, Fabrizio Barcellona.

“Seafarers must be guaranteed fulfilling careers in which all their rights are protected and respected – and this week we’ve taken another important step towards that future.”

ENDS

Notes

The Maritime Labour Convention, adopted by the ILO in 2006 and entered into force in 2013, is often referred to as the “Seafarers’ Bill of Rights.” It consolidates and updates nearly 70 international labour standards related to maritime work. The Special Tripartite Committee (STC) was established to keep the Convention under review and ensure its continuous improvement.

Mark_D 14 Apr 2025

The targeting of Gaza’s essential workers and civilian infrastructure is an attack on us all

Zeyn_M — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 13:34:45 +0000

The targeting of Gaza’s essential workers and civilian infrastructure is an attack on us all

As the war in Gaza continues, Global Union Federations are shining a light on the crisis workers face across all economic sectors. Through a series of shared essays and articles on our websites, we aim to expose the conflict's devastating impact on livelihoods, safety and well-being for working people while emphasizing the urgent need for a ceasefire. This article was written by Daniel Bertossa. General Secretary of Public Services International.

Across Gaza, public service workers face scenes of unimaginable devastation: 392 educational facilities destroyed; 132 water wells out of service; 24 hospitals knocked out with the remaining 11 only partially functional. The entire energy grid remains offline due to fuel import restrictions and the severing of external lines. Lack of electricity has forced desalination and water treatment plants to close with wastewater openly flowing in the streets. Lack of washing facilities is forcing many women to take pills to delay their menstruation.

Yet amid the rubble and the ruins, they persist. Water workers scramble to prevent dehydration after the destruction of pipes and aquifers. Doctors and nurses save lives while fearing for their own. Aid workers face the impossible task of feeding and housing a displaced population the size of Barcelona, within a ‘safe zone’ of a few square kilometres.

Gaza is now the most dangerous place on Earth to practice medicine with over 340 health professionals lost. More than 150 United Nations staff have been killed; the largest death toll in a conflict in the organisation’s 78-year history. As World Health Organization (WHO) director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus puts it: “What type of world do we live in when people cannot get food and water, when health workers are at risk of being bombed as they carry out their life saving work?”

Civilian casualties have been exacerbated by attacks on locations such as legal associations, universities, union headquarters, telecommunications, roads, high-rise residential blocks and even UN buildings. One Israeli intelligence source has been reported as saying the primary motivation for such attacks is to cause “damage to civil society”. Another says: “Nothing happens by accident. When a three-year-old girl is killed in a home in Gaza, it’s because someone in the army decided it wasn’t a big deal for her to be killed — that it was a price worth paying in order to hit [another] target.”

It should not need to be repeated that attacks on civilians and non-military infrastructure are illegal under international human rights law. All governments and actors have an obligation under the Geneva Conventions to protect civilians, especially those providing lifesaving services in conflict zones. Making human rights law optional or context-dependent sends a dangerous message, endangers public service workers and undermines the rights of us all.

At our 31st World Congress, which was held in Geneva between 14-18 October 2023, Public Services International (PSI) condemned the 7 October terrorist attacks by Hamas, which killed over a thousand people, and called for the release of all hostages. We also noted that the reaction by Israel to collectively punish the entire population of Gaza for the actions of Hamas was not justifiable and called for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the unlawful blockade.

“It’s dire and getting worse”

In January, the International Court of Justice determined it is plausible that genocide is occurring in Gaza and ordered Israel to take action. Yet senior Western officials lament that there have been little to no improvements, with one reported in The Guardian as saying, “it’s dire and getting worse.” The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food says “Israel is destroying civilian infrastructure, the food system, humanitarian workers, and allowing this degree of malnutrition and hunger.”

Testimony from our colleagues in Gaza reflects this assessment. In December PSI brought the voice of Ilias Al-Jalda, vice president of Gaza’s General Union of Health Workers to an Emergency Meeting of the WHO to ensure health workers were heard in this debate at the highest level. At the time he was unable to leave Gaza and was sheltering with his family and ageing mother in a church under bombardment. He described for global leaders how “the Gaza Strip has become a scene where human rights are routinely violated”.

Currently 90 per cent of Gaza’s children and pregnant women face severe food and water shortages. Health professionals report children dying from dehydration, malnutrition and disease with hundreds of thousands more at risk. Dr Salama Abu Zaiter tells us: “Even before the war, our union was pushing for a much-needed hospital in Rafah. Now 1.5 million people are here, including many children with severe injuries and diseases which we are simply unable to treat.”

Yet 16 countries which provide funding for UNRWA, the major UN aid agency in Gaza, have suspended payments following Israeli claims that 12 individuals among the organisation’s 30,000 staff had links to the 7 October attack. These individuals were immediately dismissed and, while Israel is yet to provide evidence to the UN to support the claims, investigations are ongoing.

As many public service workers will tell you, it is a common tactic of the reactionary right to scandalise public services when individuals working within them commit, or are alleged to have committed, a crime. It is a tactic repeatedly used and manipulated for political purposes by those who want to undermine the provision of vital public services and cut funding. It is not acceptable in our own countries, and it is not acceptable in Gaza.

The Council of Global Unions has made clear: “The people of Gaza and our members depend on the lifesaving support UNRWA provides.” UNRWA coordinates 98.5 per cent of all UN aid workers in Gaza. Shutting it down would be catastrophic for the five million refugees it helps support across Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria and risks fueling a regional crisis. In Australia, the Australian Council of Trade Unions called on the Labour government to urgently reinstate funding to the UNRWA. The EU has already resumed UNRWA contributions, and other countries must follow suit.

In times of war, essential workers and public services are often all that stands between life and death. This conflict is demonstrating the humanitarian catastrophe caused by their destruction. Our global labour movement will never accept the killing of civilians, the bombing of vital infrastructure or the targeting of our comrades as valid methods of warfare – not in Gaza, nor anywhere else.

Unions can:

1. Advocate for an end to restrictions on aid supplies to restore essential services and to meet the needs of the civilians in Gaza to restore human dignity and rights:
2. Call for unimpeded import of medicines, vaccines, and vital medical equipment to address the healthcare crisis.
3. Demand access to care in medical centers outside of Gaza and free movement for patients including through the opening of the Rafah crossing,
4. Pressure your government to fund provision of public services to alleviate the humanitarian crisis, including funding for UNRWA.
5. Call for your government to support an immediate ceasefire.

You can donate to PSI’s Gaza Solidarity Fund to provide humanitarian assistance and support to public service workers.

Zeyn_M 13 Mar 2024

conflict

rights

Arab World