ITF comment on latest Prestige ruling

Please find this statement attached and below.

Yours,

Sam

28 January 2016

ITF comment on latest Prestige ruling

Responding to the Spanish Supreme Court's decision to sentence Captain Mangouras to two years imprisonment over the 2002 Prestige oil spill, ITF seafarers' section chair Dave Heindel said: "This decision represents the dying gasps of a 14 year old attempt to deflect blame onto the shoulders of an octogenarian man, who has been cleared in the court of world opinion and by his peers.

 

"Thankfully it is likely to be as unenforceable as it is illogical. This innocent man cannot again be made to sit needlessly in jail."

 

He concluded: "The Mangouras case was one of the worse examples of the kneejerk criminalisation of seafarers. The ITF, like many other organisations and individuals, was able to support him during that ordeal. This latest piece of victimisation reminds us that we must all remain vigilant to protect seafarers from these injustices."

 

ENDS

 

ITF communications: getting the message out - when and where it matters

www.itfglobal.org 

www.facebook.com/ITFglobal 

Twitter: @itfglobalunion

This email is confidential and may be privileged. If you have received it in error, please notify the sender and then delete it immediately. You should not copy it or use it for any purpose nor disclose its contents to any other person. Any views or opinions expressed within the email are solely those of the sender and do not necessarily represent those of the ITF or the Seafarers' Trust.

Press release: ITF backs Seaman Guard Ohio appeal

Please find this release attached and below.

Yours,

Sam Dawson

ITF

26 January 2016

ITF backs Seaman Guard Ohio appeal

The ITF (International Transport Workers' Federation) is to pay for legal support for the court appeal of the ship's crew members of the Seaman Guard Ohio.

 

ITF seafarers' section chair Dave Heindel said: "We have now completed a full legal analysis of the court's judgment and we firmly believe there are grounds for appeal. We will match our determination with funds. We hope that  the – flag of convenience – flag state, Sierra Leone, will also be moved to help these seafarers.

 

"This is a clear case of criminalisation of the vessel's crew. They have been sentenced for supposedly being in charge of weapons that they would never have handled. How can you imprison a ship's cook for five years for weapons possession when the only thing he's handled is pots and pans? It's an injustice.

 

"We trust that this point will be accepted on appeal."

 

He continued: "The real scandal is that the company responsible, AdvanFort, has been able to play fast and loose with rules, regulations, vessel registration and insurance, thereby dropping the ship's crew and the armed guards into this mess. Having done so they have abandoned their employees and washed their hands of them. Given its behaviour throughout this affair, AdvanFort does not deserve to continue to exist in business."

 

ENDS

ITF communications: getting the message out - when and where it matters

www.itfglobal.org 

www.facebook.com/ITFglobal 

Twitter: @itfglobalunion

This email is confidential and may be privileged. If you have received it in error, please notify the sender and then delete it immediately. You should not copy it or use it for any purpose nor disclose its contents to any other person. Any views or opinions expressed within the email are solely those of the sender and do not necessarily represent those of the ITF or the Seafarers' Trust.

Joint press release: shipowners and seafarers' unions team up to launch bullying and harassment elimination guidance

Please find this joint ICS-ITF press release attached and below.

Yours,

Sam Dawson

ITF

 1 

 PRESS RELEASE 

For Immediate Release 25 January 2016 

Ref: 16004 

SHIPOWNERS AND SEAFARERS' UNIONS TEAM UP TO LAUNCH NEW 

GUIDANCE ON THE ELIMINATION OF HARASSMENT AND BULLYING 

Maritime employers and seafarers' unions have joined forces to publish new international 'Guidance on Eliminating Shipboard Harassment and Bullying'. 

The new Guidelines, developed by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), can be downloaded from the ICS and ITF websites. 

These Guidelines have been launched in advance of an important International Labour Organization (ILO) Special Tripartite Committee on the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), to be held in February in Geneva, at which ICS and ITF will co-ordinate the representation of the social partners alongside governments. 

Under the ILO MLC, governments are already required to satisfy themselves that their laws and regulations respect the fundamental right of seafarers not to be discriminated against during their employment on board ships. 

Recognising that any form of harassment and bullying can have serious consequences for seafarers, the new industry Guidance takes the additional step of setting out what shipping companies, seafarers and seafarers' organisations can do to help prevent bullying and harassment from becoming a serious concern. 

As well as providing advice on company policies on reporting, complaints and grievance procedures, the Guidance addresses the responsibilities of seafarers and their employers to use these procedures appropriately and for being aware of any harassment or bullying that might occur within the maritime workplace. This includes any instances of cyber-bullying. 

The important role of seafarers' organisations in these awareness raising activities is also underlined. ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe, remarked: "Shipowners fully accept the need to develop policies and plans to eliminate harassment and bullying as a matter of good employment practice. Bullying has serious consequences for the physical and emotional health of seafarers and can also compromise teamwork with negative consequences for the safety of the ship and its crew. The fact that ICS and ITF have collaborated to produce this new Guidance is therefore a very positive development." 2 

ITF General Secretary, Steve Cotton, said: "Bullying and harassment in the workplace are unacceptable wherever they happen – but they have a particular horror at sea, where those affected may be isolated and alone, hundreds of miles from home. Until now there has been a lack of practical common sense guidelines and we're delighted that we have been able to work side by side with the ICS to address this need." 

The Guidelines are now being distributed throughout the global shipping industry via ICS national shipowners' associations and ITF union affiliates. The authors are also encouraging their use by maritime training providers and other parties with an interest in promoting the elimination of harassment and bullying within the global shipping industry. 

—ends— 

Notes To Editors: 

 The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) is the principal international trade association for shipowners and operators, concerned with all technical, legal employment affairs and policy issues that may affect international shipping. ICS membership comprises national shipowners' associations in Asia, Europe and the Americas whose member shipping companies operate over 80% of the world's merchant tonnage 

 The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is an international trade union federation of transport workers' unions, comprising around 700 unions across the different transport sectors. The ITF represents the interests of transport workers' unions in bodies which take decisions affecting jobs, employment conditions or safety in the transport industry 

 The ICS/ITF Guidance on Eliminating Shipboard Harassment and Bullying can be downloaded at: www.ics-shipping.org/docs/harassmentandbullying 

 The ILO Special Tripartite Committee (STC) is a body established under Article XIII of the ILO MLC with the purpose of keeping the Convention under ongoing review by governments and ILO 'social partners'. The second meeting of the STC will take place at the ILO Headquarters in Geneva from the 8-10 February, at which ICS and ITF will be co-ordinating the Shipowners' and Seafarers' groups respectively 

For Further Information, please contact: 

ICS: Debra Massey Elaborate Communications Tel +44 (0) 1296 682356 

ITF: Sam Dawson International Transport Workers' Federation Tel +44 (0) 20 7403 2733 

ITF communications: getting the message out - when and where it matters

www.itfglobal.org 

www.facebook.com/ITFglobal 

Twitter: @itfglobalunion

This email is confidential and may be privileged. If you have received it in error, please notify the sender and then delete it immediately. You should not copy it or use it for any purpose nor disclose its contents to any other person. Any views or opinions expressed within the email are solely those of the sender and do not necessarily represent those of the ITF or the Seafarers' Trust.

Press release: Year's first East Asia action week begins Monday

Please find this release attached and below.

Yours,

Sam Dawson

ITF

22 January 2016

Year's first East Asia action week begins Monday

ITF inspectors, along with dockers' and seafarers' union members, will check pay and working conditions on board vessels as part of the first East Asian maritime action week of 2016. The action week will be held from 25 to 29 January across ports in Japan, Korea, Russia and Taiwan.

 

In Japan, a rally will be held at the Kotoku Kaiun company, over its refusal to talk with trade unions.

 

ENDS

 

For more details please contact:

In the UK, Sam Dawson. Telephone: +44 (0)20 7940 9260. Email: dawson_sam@itf.org.uk

 

In Japan, Fusao Ohori. Tel: +81 3 5410 8330. Mobile: +81 90 6949 5469. Email: ohori_fusao@itf.org.uk

 

In Korea, Hye Kyung Kim. Tel: +82 2 716 2764. Mobile +82 10 5441 1232. Email: kim_hk@itf.org.uk

 

In Taiwan, Tse-Ting Tu. Tel: +886 (0)75212380. Mobile: +886 (0)988513979. Email: tu_tse-ting@itf.org.uk or Sanders Chang. Tel: +886(0)2658 4514. Mobile: +886(0)955 415 705. Email: chang_sanders@itf.org.uk

 

In Russia, Petr Osichansky. Telephone: +7 4232 512 485. Mobile: +7(0)4232 706485. Email:  osichansky_petr@itf.org.uk

 

 

ITF communications: getting the message out - when and where it matters

www.itfglobal.org 

www.facebook.com/ITFglobal 

Twitter: @itfglobalunion

This email is confidential and may be privileged. If you have received it in error, please notify the sender and then delete it immediately. You should not copy it or use it for any purpose nor disclose its contents to any other person. Any views or opinions expressed within the email are solely those of the sender and do not necessarily represent those of the ITF or the Seafarers' Trust.

ITF press release: Unions put Thailand on trial over failure to protect workers rights

15 January 2016

Unions put Thailand on trial over failure to protect workers rights

The ITF (International Transport Workers' Federation) has joined its Thai member unions the Thai Airways International Union (TG Union) and the State Enterprise Workers Relations Confederation (SERC) to put the Thai government's behaviour on trial at the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Switzerland.

 

The Thai unions and ITF have submitted a catalogue of failures by the Thai government to defend the rights of workers to the ILO's Committee on Freedom of Association. They are challenging the government to act in line with international conventions and norms.

 

The complaint says that the conduct of Thai Airways International Public

Company Limited (Thai Airways) in the dispute that prompted this complaint

exposes a number of failures in Thai law to protect workers' and trade union rights.

 

The complaint details the events following a spontaneous two-day protest by off duty Thai Airways staff from 18 January 2013 for a decent pay rise and bonus. Officials from the TG Union negotiated between the staff and management, and convinced them to end the protest. On 19 January the airline signed an agreement granting the pay and benefits demanded by the staff.

 

However, Thai Airways took legal action over the protest against four officials from the TG Union and a court ordered them to pay over USD 9,000,000.

 

Gabriel Mocho, ITF civil aviation secretary, said: "The TG Union acted in a way that is beyond reproach in this matter. It formed a vital link between management and the protestors, and without its involvement this dispute could have spiralled out of control. It is shameful that the union officials are being punished using Thai law for their constructive and supportive behaviour. We now call on the ILO to step in and force the government of Thailand to legally protect the rights of its workers, and correct this rotten legislation that is clearly in breach of international law."

 

For more background see here http://goo.gl/zD3Bz5

For more information contact Andy Khan-Gordon on tel: +44 (0)20 7940 9282 / +44 (0)7968 274 211. Email: khan-gordon_andy@itf.org.uk

THE INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT WORKERS' FEDERATION (ITF): ITF House, 49-60 Borough Road, London, SE1 1DR. Tel: +44 (0)20 7403 2733. Fax: +44 (0)20 7357 7871. www.itfglobal.org.uk. Twitter: https://twitter.com/ITFglobalunion. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ITFglobal

ENDS

This email is confidential and may be privileged. If you have received it in error, please notify the sender and then delete it immediately. You should not copy it or use it for any purpose nor disclose its contents to any other person. Any views or opinions expressed within the email are solely those of the sender and do not necessarily represent those of the ITF or the Seafarers' Trust.