ILO

Petrobras rejects sham union, ISU

Mark_D — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 12:46:01 +0000

Petrobras rejects sham union, ISU

Slovenian sham union’s sub-standard agreements dismissed by major Brazilian oil company

Notorious sham union, the International Seafarers’ Union (ISU), has been rejected by Petrobras (Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – the Brazilian Petroleum Corporation).

The ISU made an unsolicited approach to the multinational corporation in Brazil earlier this year, seeking to sell its fake union agreements for use on the Petrobras fleet of ships.

However, Petrobras only accepts International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) or ITF-equivalent agreements in the interests of protecting its seafarers from substandard pay and conditions.

Confederação Nacional dos Trabalhadores em Transporte Aquaviário e Aéreo, na Pesca e nos Portos (CONTTMAF) President and ITF Executive Board member, Carlos Muller, said: “We created a forum with Petrobras after a (Sindicato Nacional dos Oficiais da Marinha Mercante (SINDMAR) member suffered a very serious accident on a ship working for Petrobras.

“This is to ensure that we have strong agreements that will prevent such accidents from happening again: our seafarers deserve the very best working conditions, and this is a particular concern on ships flying ‘Flags of Convenience’ flags.”

In another case in Brazil, in December 2024, the ship Eleen Eva (IMO: 9527415) was abandoned in Paranaguá, Brazil, sailing under an ISU-Lanibra agreement – one many cases of abandonment, wage theft and arrests of ISU ships recorded by the ITF.

The crew of the ship, comprising 20 seafarers from India, Ukraine, Indonesia, Bulgaria, Türkiye and Russia, were left without USD178,000 in owed wages. Despite contacting ISU for help, the seafarers received no reply.

The ITF stepped in to record the abandonment, notify the flag state and – by the end of January 2025 – recover and return the wages to the seafarers.

The ITF is campaigning for ISU to be deregistered as a trade union in Slovenia, including hosting an e-action asking Slovenian Deputy Prime Minister, Luka Mesec, to deregister the organisation.

As outlined the ITF report, ‘A Sham Trade Union Undermining the Maritime Industry’, ISU is run by the same individuals behind Lanibra – a company openly selling anti-union services. This means that ISU directly violates international and national laws that forbid “interference” by employers in a union.

Slovenian national public broadcaster, RTV Slovenia, covered the story of the sham union in June this year. Its evening news broadcast focused on this breach of international law and ISU Co-Founder and Executive Board President, and Lanibra Founder and Owner/Director, Branko Krznaric’s penchant for Rolex watches and Ferraris.

This clear conflict of interest and breach of international law was put to Krznaric by Slovenian national public broadcaster, RTV Slovenia, where it was also revealed that the ISU website was edited during the filming of the news broadcast to make it appear that Krznaric held no senior role in the organisation.

“We don’t want an international union of shame endorsing poor working conditions on vessels,” said Muller.

“Our message is clear, no fake unions in Brazil.”

Mark_D 31 Jul 2025

ILO

ISU

labour rights

seafarers

Seafarers

Global

Latin America

IMO, ILO, ICS, ITF unite in call to protect seafarers against criminalisation

Mark_D — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 09:48:23 +0000

IMO, ILO, ICS, ITF unite in call to protect seafarers against criminalisation

Global maritime leaders reaffirm commitment to fair treatment, due process, and coordinated action to protect seafarers’ rights

Seafarers detained in connection with their professional duties must be treated fairly and with dignity, with full respect for their human rights, high-level participants from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), International Labour Organization (ILO), International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), and International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) have urged following a joint event at IMO Headquarters in London, United Kingdom.

Participants urged commitment to due process and the fair treatment of seafarers to allow them to be swiftly repatriated to their families in accordance with the IMO/ILO Guidelines, acknowledging that unfair criminalisation of seafarers continues to be of significant concern to seafarers and the wider industry, and reduces industry confidence.

“Global trade depends on the people – the seafarers – who are onboard ships day in, day out. The wellbeing of seafarers must remain a shared global priority. Stronger legal protections, increased awareness and continued collaboration across the maritime community are essential,” said IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez.

“Ratification and enforcement of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) are crucial to protect seafarers against criminalisation. Let’s continue to join forces to ensure that good practices on the implementation of the IMO/ILO guidelines are shared and prosecutors and judges are made aware of the particularities of the work of seafarers, essential to ensure their fair treatment.

"ILO remains committed to use all the mechanisms at its disposal to support seafarers faced with these dreadful situations.” said Corinne Vargha, ILO Director, International Labour Standards Department.

“I look forward to carrying on the vital work that my predecessor Guy Platten has been leading and continuing to collaborate with our partners at the IMO, ILO and ITF – it is of the utmost importance. Strengthened cooperation across the maritime industry is vital to safeguard our seafarers against unfair criminalisation – seafarers should not be the victims of such actions and must be supported.

"This is for the betterment of the whole maritime sector and the movement of global trade,” said Thomas Kazakos, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping.

“Seafarer criminalisation is a growing crisis that demands urgent and coordinated action. We need to move beyond policy and into implementation because while the Guidelines exist, too many governments are still falling short. As industry leaders, we have a shared responsibility to push for enforcement, to collect the data, and to hold the industry accountable.

"This crisis demands joint, sustained action from all industry stakeholders to ensure seafarers are treated fairly and protected. The power to protect seafarers lies in our joint voice, with the IMO, ILO, ICS and ITF united – we can drive the change that seafarers need and deserve," said Stephen Cotton, ITF General Secretary.

The event heard case studies from people directly involved in cases including from the seafarer, port, supply chain and shipowner perspective.

IMO and ILO, with the support of industry partners in the ILO–IMO Tripartite Working Group, have adopted Guidelines on Fair Treatment of Seafarers Detained in Connection with Alleged Crimes. The Guidelines were approved by the IMO Legal Committee (LEG 112) in April. They cover issues related to due process, protection from arbitrary detention, coercion or intimidation, and ensuring that wages, medical care and repatriation rights should remain intact during any legal proceedings. They aim to improve coordination among countries, including port States, flag States, coastal States, States of which the seafarer is a national, as well as shipowners and seafarers.

Future actions

Participants urged further practical and concrete outcomes, including robust policies, targeted training programmes, enhanced enforcement and monitoring, and the sharing of best practices across jurisdictions.

Judiciary Engagement: Recognising that many judicial systems may lack the expertise to handle maritime cases swiftly and fairly, participants encouraged the training of judicial authorities in maritime law and seafarers’ rights to ensure timely and just outcomes.
Stronger Industry Coordination: Emphasis was placed on greater coordination between Member States and industry to enable consistent implementation of legal protections and to support the rapid release and repatriation of detained seafarers.
Role of Insurers: Insurers, including P&I Clubs, were urged to provide legal support coverage and uphold seafarers’ welfare in cases of unfair treatment of seafarers.
Logistics and supply chain stability: Participants highlighted how seafarer criminalisation disrupts crew changes, undermines maritime reliability, and creates reputational and operational risks throughout the global supply chain. Maritime and logistics companies were urged to:
- Support clear protection protocols.
- Advocate for consistent treatment across jurisdictions.
- Invest in awareness and welfare initiatives across shipping and port networks.
Addressing seafarer abandonment and detention-related costs: There was strong consensus that seafarers - key workers essential to global trade - must not bear the burden of legal uncertainty, detention, or abandonment due to systemic gaps or negligence.

The event in full can be watched here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygwHyMHtSgw

Media contacts:

ITF – media@itf.org.uk

IMO - media@imo.org

ILO – Beatriz Vacotto: vacotto@ilo.org Haq Tariq: haq@ilo.org

ICS - Katerina Dimitropoulos: katerina.dimitropoulos@ics-shipping.org

Mark_D 18 Jun 2025

ITF exposes sham union endangering seafarers everywhere

Rosalyn Smith — Thu, 15 May 2025 12:42:30 +0000

ITF exposes sham union endangering seafarers everywhere

Shipping companies, financiers and governments across the world urged to cut ties with sham union, ISU-Lanibra.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is sounding the alarm on a growing threat to the rights and welfare of seafarers worldwide.

A coordinated scheme between a fake union registered in Slovenia, calling itself the International Seafarers’ Union (ISU), and a for-profit company named Lanibra, has been exposed as a global scam. Together, they sell cut-rate sham labour agreements to rogue shipping companies looking to slash costs, at the direct expense of seafarers’ rights, safety, and wages. The sham operation is clearly in breach of international labour laws.

The ITF’s exposé, ‘A sham trade union undermining the maritime industry’, launched today, reveals a disturbing pattern of seafarer abandonment, wage theft and fundamental rights violations across multiple continents, all enabled by ISU-Lanibra’s exploitative business model.

“You’ve got the same people running a private company that acts as an agent to shipowners, offering services to sideline genuine trade unions – and a sham union signing substandard agreements. It’s collusion, pure and simple,” said Paddy Crumlin, President of the ITF.

“They’re not involved in any tripartite processes. They don’t engage with the International Labour Organization or the International Maritime Organization. They have no role in the hard, institutional work of lifting standards across this industry. They undermine real social dialogue, real safety, real accountability. And that puts seafarers' lives at risk.

“The legal, moral, ethical and social responsibility of a trade union is to actively work in the service of its members,” said Crumlin.

ISU does none of that. They’re profiteering off the flesh and labour of seafarers. We will expose them.”

A global pattern of abuse

In the UK, two years after the notorious sacking scandal, it was revealed that replacement agency workers were paid less than half the legal minimum wage on P&O Ferries. Shockingly, these wages and conditions were detailed in documents, seen by the ITF, prepared for Philcrew and signed by ISU in 2023.
In Brazil, the Eleen Eva was abandoned with unpaid crew. ISU-Lanibra never responded to seafarers onboard; the ITF stepped in and recovered $178,000 in stolen wages.
In Australia, the Eleen Sofia was detained after ITF inspectors found the crew with no food onboard.
In Thailand, a seafarer sought assistance from ISU-Lanibra for unpaid wages, but his plea for help was ignored – until the ITF intervened and secured payment.

A conflict of interest that breaches International Law

The leadership of ISU and Lanibra is indistinguishable. Founder Branko Krznaric, a former ITF employee, created both entities and even registered Lanibra using the ITF’s London address.

Krznaric’s daughter, Lana Krznaric, serves on the executive board of the ISU and as Lanibra’s Director of Legal and General Affairs, while his other daughter, Nina Krznaric, acts as Lanibra’s Director of Operations. This family-run network blurs any separation between the so-called “union” and employer agent.

“While ISU claims to represent seafarers, Lanibra openly markets itself to shipowners as a tool to “deal with ITF inspectors” and resolve “labour issues”,” said David Heindel, Chair of ITF’s Seafarers’ Section. “They even boast about its insider knowledge of ITF operations. The same people selling sham agreements to shipowners are advising shipowners how to avoid legitimate unions.

“This is more than unethical, it’s illegal. Under Article 2 of ILO Convention 98, employer interference in union affairs is strictly prohibited. Slovenian law also requires unions to be independent from employers. ISU-Lanibra clearly fails on both counts.”

In an email obtained by the ITF, Krznaric directly pitched Lanibra’s services to shipowners, writing: “Many companies which are cooperating with my company Lanibra decided to cooperate with the International Seafarers’ Union (ISU).”

This dual role, acting on behalf of both employers and workers, is a textbook example of a ‘company union’: a fraudulent outfit designed to undercut real unions and strip workers of their rights.

The ITF is preparing legal engagements to address these breaches and calls on authorities to investigate and deregister ISU-Lanibra for breaching both international and domestic labour laws.

Call to action

The ITF is demanding immediate action from:

Shipowners and charterers: Terminate ISU-Lanibra agreements and adopt legitimate ITF agreements.
Financial institutions and investors: Apply ESG and Human Rights Due Diligence to end support for ISU-Lanibra-affiliated operations.
Governments: Investigate and regulate ISU-Lanibra activities under national and international labour standards.

The ITF is the global voice for 16.5 million transport workers, representing over 1 million seafarers through more than 200 unions worldwide.

In 2023 alone, it recovered over $57 million in stolen wages. Unlike ISU-Lanibra, the ITF maintains a 130-strong global inspectorate defending workers’ rights in over 110 ports worldwide.

“If you’re a shipowner, a charterer or an investor and you’re partnering with ISU-Lanibra, then you’re part of the problem,” warned Crumlin.

“You are complicit in wage theft, abandonment, and the degradation of employment standards of some of the most vulnerable workers in the world. There is no hiding behind ignorance. In today’s global supply chains, due diligence is not optional - it’s the law, it’s the expectation.”

For more information, visit: ISU Exposed

About the ITF: The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is a democratic, affiliate-led federation of transport workers’ unions recognised as the world’s leading transport authority. We fight passionately to improve working lives; connecting trade unions and workers’ networks from 147 countries to secure rights, equality and justice for their members. We are the voice of the 16.5 million women and men who move the world.

Rosalyn Smith 15 May 2025

Review of Qatar Transport Roundtable

Sian Manaz — Wed, 07 May 2025 08:57:03 +0000

Review of Qatar Transport Roundtable

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the Ministry of Labour of the State of Qatar held a roundtable meeting with the participation of the International Labour Organization (ILO), local and international transport and logistics companies, to discuss the application of domestic labour laws and international labour standards in the country’s transport sector.

Taking place at the end of April in Doha, there was an understanding that the increasing economic, climate and health uncertainties require the development of crisis protocols for the transport industry to ensure its resilience and sustainability.

As accelerating economic development and investment are increasing skills shortages, discussions identified some key requirements:

Enhancement of recruitment and retention standards and processes.
Benchmarking of local conditions and processes with international standards, such as ILO instruments and occupational standards, and models across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
Development of an action plan to narrow the gap between private and public sector recruitment. This could include conducting a study into skills anticipations in the transport sector, following the approach of the ILO study of the finance sector.

There was a recognition that government can play a critical role responding to non-compliance with recruitment regulations by coordinating the response with agencies and embassies.

Stephen Cotton, General Secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation, commended the fruitful cooperation with the Ministry of Labor and its efforts to strengthen social dialogue, enhance the working environment in the transport sector, and ensure protection of workers in this field. In his remarks at the conclusion of the roundtable discussions, Mr. Cotton noted that the State of Qatar “stands as a model in the region for its commitment to wholesale labour reforms and their effective implementation”. He also expressed appreciation for their participation in this meaningful dialogue, which places workers and joint committees at the centre of its priorities.

Actions coming out of the roundtable include:

The joint development of crisis protocols for the transport industry.
The scheduling of tripartite seminars on international occupational standards to facilitate benchmarking, aligned with standards across the GCC region.
The expansion of Joint Committees in aviation, land transport, maritime transport and the platform economy to enhance worker voice in the workplace.
Pilot interventions for fair recruitment in road transport, ride-hailing and food delivery.
An ILO study into skills anticipations in the transport sector to be conducted, following the approach of the ILO study of the finance sector.
Focusing, in collaboration with the ITF, on the mechanisms of occupational health and safety.

Sian Manaz 07 May 2025

Agreement reached on new global minimum wage for seafarers

Rosalyn Smith — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 12:28:14 +0000

Agreement reached on new global minimum wage for seafarers

The International Chamber of Shipping and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) both welcomed the introduction of a new minimum wage, following negotiations in Geneva.
These increases reaffirm the commitment of the global maritime industry to decent work and sustainable employment for seafarers, supporting their well-being and enabling them to provide for their families.
Maritime transport remains the only industry with a formally recognised global minimum wage, in place for seafarers since 1958.

Wednesday 16, Geneva - The International Labour Organization (ILO) has concluded the latest round of minimum wage negotiations for able seafarers at a meeting of the Subcommittee on Wages of Seafarers of the Joint Maritime Commission (JMC), held in Geneva on 14 and 15 April 2025.

This critical bipartite dialogue brought together shipowners and seafarers’ unions from around the world, coordinated by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).

Maritime transport remains the only industry with a formally recognised global minimum wage, in place for seafarers since 1958. ILO’s 2006 Maritime Labour Convention, mandates that the minimum monthly basic wage for an able seafarer be set periodically by the JMC.

Following the negotiations, a Resolution was adopted setting out the updated minimum wage levels, to be submitted for approval by the 355th session of ILO’s Governing Body, in November this year. The newly agreed figures are as follows:

US$690 as of 1 January 2026
US$704 as of 1 January 2027
US$715 as of 1 January 2028

The updated wage structure represents an increase of more than 6% and builds on the previous 3-year agreement concluded in September 2022, which set the minimum at US$673 as of 1 January 2025.

Mr Pål Tangen (Norwegian Shipowners’ Association), Spokesperson for the shipowners group during the meeting, said:

“This agreement strikes a careful and considered balance between recognising the vital contribution of seafarers and maintaining the commercial sustainability of the global shipping industry. Seafarers play an indispensable role in keeping world trade flowing, often under tough and unpredictable conditions. These are not ordinary times, and this resolution reflects our respect for their service, while ensuring that shipowners can continue to operate in a highly competitive and volatile global market.”

Mr Mark Dickinson (Nautilus International), Spokesperson for the seafarers group, commented:

“Seafarers are crucial in delivering 90% of all goods for people in every nation of the world and the ITF will always demand proper recognition for these workers. Last week we made an important breakthrough with recognition of seafarers’ key worker status in the Maritime Labour Convention. This week we have taken a further step to improve their welfare through pay rises that both retain and increase the value of the ILO AB minimum wage, taking into account increases in the cost of living since 2022.”

Mr Frank Hagemann, Director of the ILO Sectoral Policies Department, added:

“The outcome of this wholly unique global collective bargaining forum represents more than just a technical adjustment to the minimum wage. It reflects a shared responsibility and commitment to uphold decent work at sea.”

The negotiations in Geneva took place against the backdrop of the escalation in global trade tensions. In their opening remarks, both sides expressed concern about the current cloud of uncertainty and the prospect of a potential full-scale trade war, which could divide the world and reshape global trade, with shipping caught in the crosshairs and therefore impacting the lives and livelihoods of the world’s nearly two million seafarers. Seafarers must not be collateral victims of global economic conflict. We reaffirm that fair trade must also mean fair treatment for those who keep global trade moving.

Notes

About ILO’s Joint Maritime Commission (JMC)

The ILO minimum wage is reviewed periodically by the ILO Joint Maritime Commission (JMC), a bipartite ILO body comprising a global group of maritime employers, co-ordinated by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and a global group of seafarers’ unions, co-ordinated by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF). The global ILO Minimum Wage is next scheduled for review by the JMC in the first half of 2028.

About ICS:

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) is the principal international trade association for merchant shipowners and operators, representing all sectors and trades and over 80% of the world merchant fleet.

About ITF:

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is a democratic, affiliate-led federation of transport workers’ unions recognised as the world’s leading transport authority. We fight passionately to improve working lives; connecting trade unions and workers’ networks from 147 countries to secure rights, equality and justice for their members. We are the voice of the 16.5million women and men who move the world.

Rosalyn Smith 16 Apr 2025

ITF joins affiliate unions in Geneva to demand fair treatment of seafarers

Mark_D — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 09:41:22 +0000

ITF joins affiliate unions in Geneva to demand fair treatment of seafarers

Trade unions from around the world join ILO and IMO meeting to advance measures to combat seafarer criminalisation and unfair treatment.

Seafarers must be treated fairly and not subjected to unjust criminalisation or unfair treatment – that is the message that was delivered to governments from around the world gathered in Geneva this week.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) joined global seafarers’ union affiliates at the ‘Third meeting of the Joint ILO–IMO Tripartite Working Group to Identify and Address Seafarers’ Issues and the Human Element’.

The meeting had the specific aim of discussing and adopting ‘Guidelines on the fair treatment of seafarers detained on suspicion of committing crimes’.

“Time and again, we have seen cases where seafarers are treated like criminals, held for months on end without trial and given sentences for crimes they didn’t commit,” said Seafarers’ Section Chair and President of the Seafarers International Union of North America, David Heindel.

“These are gross human rights abuses, and they must be called out as such so that this appalling criminalisation of seafarers ends.”

The ITF has consistently lobbied for a strengthening of frameworks protecting seafarers, citing the global nature of unjust seafarer criminalisation and unfair treatment, and the wide range of issues for which seafarers are increasingly criminalised and detained, whether maritime accidents, illicit cargo or pollution infringements.

In September this year, two seafarers were sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment after drugs were found on a vessel docked in Turkey. The pair, who had already spent a year in remand prison, had their sentence handed down despite no evidence of wrongdoing.

At the time, General Secretary of ITF affiliate, the Croatian Seafarers' Union, Neven Melvan, called the decision “outrageous” and showing “a complete lack of understanding and respect for what seafarers do”.

The ongoing failure to protect seafarers from criminalisation and unfair treatment comes at a time when the maritime industry is facing a global recruitment and retention crisis.

“It’s well known that right now the industry is facing a recruitment and retention crisis,” said Nautilus International General Secretary and Seafarers’ spokesperson at the ILO, Mark Dickinson. “Seafarers are too often considered guilty until proven innocent, denied their fundamental rights, and this sends a terrible message which risks the future of our maritime industry and undermines the resilience of global supply chains.”

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) and International Labour Organization (ILO) new Guidelines are intended to ensure that, “seafarers detained on suspicion of committing a crime are treated fairly during any investigation and detention by public authorities, and that detention is for no longer than necessary, in accordance with the laws of the port or coastal states”. They acknowledge the unique role of seafarers and that, due to the global operations of the shipping industry which means seafarers traverse different jurisdictions, they need “special protection” when it comes to contact with public authorities.

The new Guidelines also:

Set out the different responsibilities to treat seafarers fairly when detained on suspicion of committing crimes: for port and coastal states, flag states, shipowners and the state of which the seafarer is a national.
Provide support towards seafarers, including access to consular services, legal assistance, and specify the importance of non-custodial measures during an investigation.
Emphasise the enjoyment of fundamental human rights for seafarers, and the need to treat seafarers with respect and dignity at all times.
Call for the strengthening of co-operation between flag states, the states of nationality of seafarers, the port state where the seafarers are investigated or detained, and also with ship owners and seafarers’ representatives.
Agree that seafarers need to be made aware of the risks of incriminating themselves, and the options available should they end up in a situation where they are investigated or detained.

The existing ILO and IMO Guidelines on the Fair Treatment of Seafarers in the event of a maritime accident came into force on 1 July 2006. However, to date the ITF believes that the Guidelines have not been adequately enforced.

Affiliates joining the ITF in Geneva are the Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union (SMOU), the Seafarers International Union of North America (SIU), the Maritime Union of India (MUI), Nautilus International, the Norwegian Union of Marine Engineers (DNMF), the Marine Transport Workers’ Trade Union (MTWTU – Ukraine), the General Trade Union of Maritime Transport Workers (Egypt) and the National Confederation of Transport workers in Waterway and Air, Fishing and Ports (Confederação Nacional dos Trabalhadores em Transportes Aquaviário e Aéreo, na Pesca e nos Portos, CONTTMAF – Brazil).

The ITF toolkit on seafarer criminalisation is available here.

Mark_D 29 Nov 2024

UK ‘Fishery Improvement Project’ tainted by forced labour abuses, human trafficking

Mark_D — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 13:51:38 +0000

UK ‘Fishery Improvement Project’ tainted by forced labour abuses, human trafficking

More than 130 migrant fishers impacted by forced labour in seafood supply chain for scampi that ends up on UK plates

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has successfully appealed against the false labour and human rights claims of the UK Nephrops (scampi) Fishery Improvement Project (FIP).

After months of rigorous investigation by the ITF, industry sustainability reporting platforms FishChoice and FisheryProgress have confirmed that there is a credible and public claim of forced labour and/or human trafficking connected to the FIP – which covers all UK-flagged vessels fishing for scampi in UK waters – within two years of its latest Self-Evaluation of Risk Criteria submitted on July 17, 2023.

ITF Fisheries Section Coordinator Rossen Karavatchev said: "FIPs lack direct and continuous engagement with workers, which is a fundamental requirement for Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) – which is now the widely accepted standard for ensuring the protection of rights and the environment in supply chains.

“The current model of FIPs creates market fragmentation, excludes workers and entrenches power imbalances, ultimately undermining trade union organising and worker empowerment."

The litany of failures to protect workers’ rights in the FIP, uncovered by the ITF, includes:

62 vessels within the FIP found to employ migrant fishers without work permits for the UK, in contravention of the Nationalities and Borders Act 2022;
11 vessels reported for forcing fishers to work excessive hours and unpaid overtime, in contravention of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Work in Fishing Convention (C188);
14 vessels involved in withholding or delaying workers’ wages, amounting to wage theft;
crew on 12 vessels subjected to abuse, including bullying and death threats.

The ITF estimates that abuses across a number of vessels – with some implicated in several categories of abuse – affected at least 138 migrant fishers working in UK waters.

ITF Fisheries Expert Chris Williams said: “The entire concept of certifying for labour issues at the fishery level is inadequate, ineffective, and risks ‘fairwashing’. What this ultimately means is that UK shoppers are completely unaware that they’re buying and consuming seafood tainted by forced labour.

“We want to see UK scampi on our plates – but we must ensure that it is both sustainable and caught by workers whose rights are respected. To do that, we must end superficial sourcing requirements like FIPs and introduce collective bargaining agreements, Human Rights Due Diligence and other binding agreements with genuine worker representation.”

The ITF believes that this case highlights that FIPs cannot be viewed as providing credible assurances that there are no labour or human rights violations in a fishery and, more broadly, that voluntary measures do not protect workers in the UK fishing industry.

ENDS

Notes

The ITF’s key findings from analysis of the UK scampi FIP:

Illegal Employment Practices: 62 vessels within the FIP were found to employ migrant fishers without work permits for the UK, in contravention of the Nationalities and Borders Act 2022.
Excessive Work Hours and Unpaid Overtime: 11 vessels were reported for forcing fishers to work excessive hours and unpaid overtime, in contravention of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Work in Fishing Convention (C188).
Wage Theft: 14 vessels were involved in withholding or delaying workers' wages, amounting to wage theft.
Illegal Work Agreements: 13 vessels failed to comply with ILO C188 by using illegal employment contracts (fishermen’s work agreements).
Denied Medical Care: Four vessels failed to report accidents and denied medical care to injured fishers.
Poor Living Conditions: Six vessels were reported for providing workers insufficient food, water, and unhygienic living conditions.
Violence and Retaliation: Crew on 12 vessels were involved in abuse, including bullying and death threats.
Abandonment: Three vessels were reported for abandoning workers (non-payment of wages for over two months).

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

Mark_D 17 Jul 2024

ITF fights for labour rights at the International Labour Conference

Mark_D — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 12:32:38 +0000

ITF fights for labour rights at the International Labour Conference

The ITF joined trade union allies from around the world in Geneva to call for action on serious breaches of workers’ rights

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) was in Switzerland in June for the annual meeting of what’s become known as the ‘international parliament of labour’ – the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) International Labour Conference (ILC).

This key event in the global labour calendar brings together representatives from governments, trade unions and employers to establish, adopt, and monitor international labour standards and to set the policy agenda of the ILO.

The ITF joined a number of ITF-affiliated transport trade unions from across the world in Geneva, as well as fellow global union federations under the banner of the Council of Global Unions (CGU), currently chaired by UNI Global Union General Secretary, Christy Hoffman.

ITF General Secretary Stephen Cotton addressed the Conference and called for unity in confronting the overlapping crises facing working people around the world.

“Globally we are facing converging economic, political, social and climate crises that are threatening working people and have the potential to exacerbate existing inequalities,” he said.

“We are seeing a decent work shortage in transport and across the global economy - workplaces are becoming increasingly unsafe, employment increasingly precarious, standards of living are falling and workplace rights – including the fundamental right to strike and right to collective bargaining – are under attack. Democracy around the world is being threatened – no social justice can exist in societies where there is a violation of basic human rights, which is why I want to put on record our full support for the Global Coalition on Social Justice.

“Together, we have a collective responsibility to respond to these crises – to build better workplaces and ensure inclusive and effective labour protection for all workers.”

This year’s Conference also took the initial step towards establishing the first-ever international labour standard governing biological hazards in the world of work. The ITF Legal Department’s Helen Breese participated in the deliberations representing the voice of transport workers in these critical standard-setting negotiations.

The below interventions were made at the ‘Conference Committee on the Application of Standards’, which examines whether or not ILO conventions are being properly applied, with governments given the opportunity to respond. The Committee makes recommendations on steps governments could take, or for technical assistance on the engagement of ILO missions.

Ecuador: Fishers among self-employed and informal workers without trade union rights

The ITF explained to the Committee that self-employed and informal workers in Ecuador do not enjoy trade union rights under the country’s Labour Code – a breach of ILO Convention 87 (C087), Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise.

In Ecuador, fishing is a billion-dollar industry, with the country home to the largest tuna fleet in the Pacific Ocean and the second biggest tuna industry in the world.

But fishers, who regularly change vessels and have contracts issued for each trip – which usually last 20-40 days – are classed as self-employed. This means that workers in the wild-capture tuna fleet in Manta have been unable to establish their union – the Sindicato de Marineros de Manabi – despite years of trying.

Worse still, fishing is classed as one of the world’s most dangerous industries. Only two weeks before the Geneva meeting, four fishers died in a vessel fire in Manta, while a vessel observer was killed in April in a trawler collision.

“These fishers need and deserve a union to be able to bargain collectively - at the most appropriate level suitable to this most particular industry,” ITF Legal Director, Ruwan Subasinghe, told the Committee.

Eswatini: Quash convictions, drop charges against trade unionists

In an emotional intervention, ITF Legal Director Ruwan Subasinghe explained that he was sat behind the wife of trade union lawyer, Thulani Maseko, when she came to the ILC in 2015 to appeal for his release from jail.

Maseko was jailed for two years for speaking out on the injustices a worker faced in Eswatini’s judicial system. He was eventually released in 2017 after serving his full sentence – but Maseko was shot dead in his house last year in what is believed to be a political killing.

The dire situation faced by trade unionists in Eswatini, and the failure to uphold Convention 87 (C087) on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, sadly continues.

At the end of 2022, ITF-affiliate, the Swaziland Transport, Communication and Allied Workers’ Union (SWATCAWU) called a “job stay away” with demands to improve working conditions and to release jailed political leaders. Only a few weeks later, SWATCAWU General Secretary, Sticks Nkambule, survived an assassination attempt. The next day, heavily armed state forces raided his home and village.

Fortunately, Nkambule escaped, but he has been in exile ever since, with the SWATCAWU office now under constant surveillance and subject to regular forced entry from armed police.

“This is no way for trade unionists to conduct their activities in full freedom,” Subasinghe said.

“The Government of Eswatini must refrain from the violent treatment and harassment, including judicial harassment, of trade unionists.”

The consensual conclusions adopted by the Committee in this case called on the Government to drop all charges against Nkambule and to ensure his safe return home from exile.

Philippines: a culture of impunity for extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances

Speaking to Conference Committee on the Application of Standards on behalf of Building and Woodworkers International (BWI), the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), and IndustriALL, BWI General Secretary Ambet Yuson outlined the continuing failure to realise Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (ILO Convention 87, C087) in the Philippines.

Yuson said he wanted to explain, “the risks my brothers and sisters back home face from being a trade unionist”, including a number of cases which occurred after an ILO visit to the country. In 2023, the ILO dispatched a ‘High-Level Tripartite Mission’ (HLTM) to the Philippines – missions are made up of governments, employers and workers’ groups, and they investigate violations of international labour standards and labour rights.

Yuson said that since the Mission, 24 trade union leaders are still jailed “on trumped-up charges”, two of whom were arrested after the Mission. There have also been three new cases of abduction or enforced disappearance, while a large number of representatives from sectoral trade unions and labour movement campaign organisation, SENTRO (Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa), are subject to ongoing ‘red-tagging’, surveillance and profiling.

Yuson explained that since the Duterte regime took office in 2016 – sparking a surge in red-tagging and extrajudicial killings – 72 trade unionists have been killed.

“I cannot make this intervention without restating their stories,” Yuson said. “Alex Dolorosa was reported missing in April 2023, and his body was later found days later with multiple stab wounds. Jude Thaddeus Fernandez was gunned down in September 2023.”

While killings have declined under the new Marcos administration, rogue state forces still operate under a culture of impunity.

“It is imperative that the government immediately address and investigate the labour rights violations, as well as implement effective reforms to protect trade unionists in the country and all workers’ right to organise,” he said Yuson.

Tunisia: Collective bargaining restrictions affecting 40 trade unions

Kemal Özkan, Assistant General Secretary of IndustriALL, spoke to the International Labour Conference Committee about workers’ rights abuses in Tunisia on behalf of IndusrtiALL, the International Transport Workers’ Federation and Building and Woodworkers International.

“In Tunisia, union leaders face dismissals and transfers from jobs because of their union work,” Özkan said. “Union leaders are subject to fabricated court cases because of their union activities, and some have been jailed. The case of brother Anis Kaabi from the transport sector, who spent 14 months in prison, is a blatant example of such violations.”

UGTT (Union Générale Tunisienne du Travai – Tunisian General Labour Union) is struggling to achieve genuine social dialogue and respect for freedom of association in Tunisia. However, since 2021, the Government of Tunisia has indirectly suspended the work of the National Council of Social Dialogue by failing to appoint its own representatives to the Council.

Government circular Nr.20, issued in 2021, restricts collective bargaining for around 40 trade unions and prevents the implementation of agreements between unions and respective ministries.

At the same time, the Government is unilaterally amending labour laws and excluding UGTT from discussions, while also cancelling concessions enshrined in international law that allow workers holding a trade union position to work full time for UGTT: trade unionists Tahar Berberi, Bassam Ben Treka and Mohamed Bedera have all been asked to pay huge financial compensation to the Government, with Berberi – a former IndustriALL vice-president – facing a trial and blocked from travelling abroad due to his union work.

The Government crackdown has also targeted international trade unionists. European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) General Secretary, Esther Lynch, was ordered to leave the country after protesting the trade union crackdown – she had travelled to Tunisia alongside other international union leaders to show solidarity to UGTT.

These examples leave severe concerns about the failure of Tunisia to respect the ILO Convention 87 (CO87) on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, and Convention 98 (CO98) on The Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining.

Özkan said: “We call on the government of Tunisia to implement all the signed agreements between the government and the UGTT and social partners, end all forms of harassment of trade union leaders, respect the national and international agreements and well-established national practices on union representation.”

Turkey: Borusan dockers, chronic failure to protect workers from anti-union dismissals

In March this year, Turkish union Liman-İş started organising at the port of Borusan, in the country’s Bursa province. The organisers’ efforts met with success - 85% of the port’s workers joined the union.

Only three weeks later, six workers were dismissed for the sole reason that they joined Liman-İş - in direct contradiction of Convention 87 (C087) on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise.

But after their union brothers and sisters organised a four-day work stoppage, the workers were reinstated, and the company – Borusan Logistics – vowed to stop blocking union organising.

“This is when things deteriorated,” International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) Legal Director, Ruwan Subasinghe, explained to the Committee. “Almost immediately, the employer began to threaten workers and demand that they resign their union membership.”

By the next month, May, 37 workers – all lead organisers or union contacts - were put on leave. Less than two weeks later, they were all sacked via SMS after refusing to resign their union membership – with the ITF coordinating global solidarity action soon after.

"These 37 workers and their families are only a fraction of the people affected by Turkey’s longstanding failure to protect workers against anti-union dismissals in the private sector,” said Subasinghe.

“Turkey must, as a matter of urgency, adopt effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions against anti-union dismissals and ensure that workers who have suffered such prejudice, including the 37 dockers, are entitled to reinstatement in employment and full compensation in financial terms.

“Adequate protections against anti-union dismissals are not only necessary to protect workers rights and their livelihoods, they are essential to ensure the very existence of trade unions.”

Image credit: Violaine Martin/ILO. Image used unedited, under license.

Mark_D 01 Jul 2024

Seafarers, fishers to benefit from new medical guide onboard thanks to shipowners and unions

Anonymous — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 22:46:17 +0000

Seafarers, fishers to benefit from new medical guide onboard thanks to shipowners and unions

“Crew are often hundreds of miles from shore when illness, accident or injury takes place onboard – leaving them without internet and dangerously far from the nearest hospital,” said International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) General Secretary Stephen Cotton as he welcomed a new medical guide for ships from shipowners’ association ICS.

“In those circumstances, having up-to-date medical guidance to hand can make a real difference for limiting adverse health and safety outcomes for seafarers and fishers.”

The first edition of the International Medical Guide for Seafarers and Fishers is priced at £225 (about $280 USD) and is available in print and digital ebook. It includes:

The main guide for onboard crew and shoreside teams, featuring the latest medical knowledge, with clear and practical explanations of best-practice procedures;
A ship’s medicine chest detailing the latest medicines and equipment which should be carried onboard and which can be sourced from all areas of the world;
10 action cards that can be removed and carried anywhere on the ship to immediately assess an emergency medical situation.

The ITF, which brings together hundreds of seafarers’ and fishers’ unions, provided experts to contribute to the guide’s development, alongside colleagues from the International Maritime Health Association. “The ITF is proud to lend our name to this publication as a key collaborator on its content,” said Cotton.

ITF General Secretary Stephen Cotton welcomed the publication of the ICS' new medical guide. Experts from the ITF and other bodies contributed to the development of the guide. | (Credit: International Transport Forum)

International regulations require a medical guide to be carried on all commercial ships that do not have a doctor on board. Given very few vessels have a qualified doctor amongst their crew list, the guide is set to have widespread adoption in the industry as many seafarers and shipowners seek the latest medical best practice in an accessible format.

The guide’s easy-to-use layout and language, designed with non-medical professionals in mind, is a key advantage over past medical guides. 3D visual aids, tables, charts, and practical assessment questions all help crew to follow medical procedures in the right way, ensuring the best possible outcomes for their crewmates.

“We recognised the urgent need for updated medical information and this was highlighted when we saw the overwhelming and positive response to the medical materials we published during COVID-19,” says Natalie Shaw, MBE, director of employment affairs at ICS.

“Having established relationships with medical experts for many years, we undertook the extensive process of producing a completely new, comprehensive, and practical guide covering all medical situations that would provide modern medical support for crew and for shipping companies,” said ICS’ Shaw.

Crew are often hundreds of miles from shore when incidents or accidents happen onboard. Some are too far to rely even on medical evacuations by helicopter or airplane for timely care. This makes appropriate responses on board even more critical. | (Credit: ICS)

New guide an opportunity for employers to lift medical care quality, focus on crew safety

ITF’s Stephen Cotton said he welcomed the guide’s publication, noting that its adoption and use should lead to improved health and safety outcomes for crew, with positive implications for the industry’s recruitment efforts.

“This publication is a well-timed resource to support employers with their own preparedness and risk evaluation approaches. It helps them build upon the minimum requirements set out in international regulations and conventions, encouraging a rising standard of care for crew.”

“Better health and safety at sea means seafaring and fishing careers become more attractive. The more we can do to improve the industry’s reputation amongst current and future crew, the more we’ll be able to address the crewing challenges faced by a sector with a growing need for people.”

Cotton said health and safety was a core focus area for the ITF, which has more than 670 affiliated unions from more than 147 countries.

Notes:

The first edition of the ICS' International Medical Guide for Seafarers and Fishers is available for purchase here.
Cover image credit: ICS.

Anonymous (not verified) 05 Apr 2023

Global fisheries conference marks progress for workers as battle shifts to retailers and consumers

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 07:58:04 +0000

Global fisheries conference marks progress for workers as battle shifts to retailers and consumers

Unions representing more than 129,000 fishers are gathering in Amsterdam over the next two days to set their agenda for advancing fishers’ rights, safety and working conditions.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation’s (ITF) Fisheries Section Conference brings together 89 fishers’ unions from 59 countries, alongside activists from fishers’ rights networks and academic leaders, to mark progress and shape the next five years of action.

“Fisheries remains a sector where the fundamental labour rights of workers are routinely trampled on, particularly of those in and from the global south,” said Johnny Hansen, ITF Fisheries Section Chair.

The industry remains one of the most exploitative industries in the world:

128,000 fishers are trapped aboard fishing vessels in situations of forced labour, according to estimates in September by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
At least 24,000 fishers are killed each year at work with many more seriously injured according to estimates from the UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.
Despite making up 55 percent of the workforce in the United Kingdom, migrant fishers work longer hours for less pay than local workers and are fearful of speaking out even as 35 percent report being subjected to violence at work. This treatment of migrant fishers, where they do not have the same rights as local workers, is commonplace globally.

“With ever-expanding fishing fleets particularly in China, irresponsible fishing practices and mounting pressure to cut costs across supply chains – we have seen the exploitation of fishers spread to every corner of the globe,” said Hansen.

Hansen, who joined the industry as a fisher in 1982 said that across the world governments had allowed businesses to compete unchecked, with little protection in place for workers across their supply chains.

“Governments disregard labour safeguards to encourage and increase competition. Instead of protecting the fundamental labour rights of fishers, they have let corporations pursue methods to get products to market more cheaply at the expense of workers, further eroding fishers’ already exploitatively low labour standards.”

“This is why our agenda has shifted. It is only possible through building workers’ power across supply chains and ensuring that all actors including governments, seafood companies and retailers are held accountable for the labour standards from the top to the bottom of fisheries supply chains,” said Hansen.

The conference comes at a time where supply chain accountability is increasingly important to a new generation of ethical consumers, and when many governments are strengthening laws and legalisation on accountability, transparency and human rights due diligence.

Johnny Hansen, Chair of the ITF Fisheries Section, joined the industry as a fisher in 1982. | (Credit: NSU)

Global solidarity

Delegates in Amsterdam will hear how the ITF and affiliated unions are doing critical work globally to win regulation that secures fishers’ rights. Working alongside fishers in Southeast Asia, West Africa, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, the ITF and its partners have supported the formation of fishers’ rights networks as the foundations for workers to build their own independent trade unions.

“There are so many who try to cheat fishers – the crewing agents, the owners. We are taking action for equality for every fisher who calls Ireland home,” said Noel Addablah, a migrant fisher from Ghana who is attending the conference and who came to Ireland on the promise of decent work and good wages, to find an industry riddled with abuse, racism, and exploitative working conditions.

Noel Addablah became involved in the ITF-supported Fishers' Rights Network after coming to Ireland in 2018 as a migrant fisher from Ghana. He found 'an industry riddled with abuse, racism, and exploitative working conditions'. | (Credit: ITF)

The conference will celebrate recent important milestones in the global fight for decent work:

In Ireland, almost a decade of campaigning by the ITF for fishers’ rights has seen the government commit to abolishing its deeply fraught Atypical Working Scheme used to recruit migrant fishers to the country. Irish legislation will move from tying fishers’ residency status to their ongoing employment with a vessel owner and replace it with visa routes that provide migrant workers with the legal safeguards enjoyed by Irish nationals and a pathway to citizenship.
In Thailand, the ITF has assisted thousands of Burmese and Cambodian migrant fishers to establish and build the Fishers Rights Network (FRN). The FRN has mobilised fishers to stand up and protect their rights by bargaining seafood supply chain agreements, and health and safety agreements with suppliers and vessel owners. The ITF’s efforts to build a democratic trade union for fishers in Thailand, alongside pressure from partners in the region, forced Thailand to become the first country in Asia to ratify the C188 in January 2019.

The ITF is calling on the key fisheries nations of Indonesia and the Philippines, as well as Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, to urgently ratify ILO Convention C188, the international law that protects fishers' rights and decent working conditions. In addition to laying out minimum working conditions, the convention makes clear fishers’ fundamental civil and labour rights – including the right to form and join trade unions. Without its ratification and implementation governments can continue to turn a blind eye to the ongoing exploitation of fishers either working at home or abroad

Safety. Health. Medical care. These are all essential rights for fishers. 🦺 🚑More nations need to #RatifyC188 to make sure sick and injured fishers get the care they need on board — and onshore. pic.twitter.com/KLkI8I9udt
— International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) (@ITFglobalunion) December 6, 2022

Amongst the 20 governments that had ratified C188 already, the ITF will be pushing for them to fulfil their obligations to effective implement and enforce laws to protect workers in their fishing industry. ITF Fisheries affiliates will continue to campaign for the unconditional support of fishers’ fundamental trade union rights, including the right to freely associate and collectively bargain the terms and conditions of employment—regardless of nationality or residency status. This will include putting pressure on countries, like Thailand, to ratify ILO Conventions 87 and 98 that cover workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Cover image: Pictured is fisher Christopher Kwesi, working in Northern Ireland with another unknown fisher. (Credit: Marley Monacello, CIW)

Anonymous (not verified) 05 Dec 2022

maritime labour convention

supply chain

workers' rights

Fisheries