Press release: ITF Seafarers’ Trust head takes up consultancy role

Please find this release, plus photo, attached and below.

Yours,

Sam Dawson

ITF

 

 

27 July 2017

ITF Seafarers' Trust head takes up consultancy role

Kimberly Karlshoej, head of the ITF's (International Transport Workers' Federation) charity arm, the ITF Seafarers Trust, is to step down from her post and take on a consultancy role there.

 

ITF general secretary Steve Cotton commented: "Kimberly came to the Trust at the end of 2014, after having worked for a number of years as director and programme officer of the TK Foundation and as a consultant to maritime charities.

 

"During her time as head of the Trust, she has modernised and revitalised it. Her knowledge of, and passion for the maritime industry and seafarers in particular, has made the Trust more proactive in its grant-making by supporting projects that benefit maritime workers, their families and maritime communities in general. Her presentations have challenged and inspired many industry players to work towards improving the lives of seafarers wherever they are in the world."

 

He continued: "The Trust is extremely grateful for the work and effort she has dedicated to the organisation and, although it is sad that she has chosen to resign, the Trust is very pleased that she has agreed to be a consultant for it and continue the good work of the Trust along with the new acting head, Tomas Abrahamsson.

 

He concluded: "Tomas was an elected officer of the Swedish union SEKO for many years and has also been a board member of the Swedish non-profit organisation 'Union to Union', which cooperates and supports trade union organisation globally in promoting decent work, democracy, fair distribution of resources and sustainable development."

 

For more about the work of the ITF Seafarers' Trust see www.seafarerstrust.org, and follow it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ITFtrust and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/seafarers_trust

 

ENDS

 

Attachment

Photo of Kimberly Karlshoej

 

 

 

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: Australian Senate Inquiry Finds Flag of Convenience Shipping Poses Serious Risks To National Security

Please find this release attached and below. For more details please contact Dean Summers, email summers_dean@itf.org.uk, tel 0419 934 648, or Darrin Barnett, email Darrin.Barnett@mua.org.au, tel 0428 119 703

Yours,

Sam Dawson

ITF

 

Wednesday 19 July, 2017

Australian Senate Inquiry Finds Flag of Convenience Shipping Poses Serious Risks To National Security

 

The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) says the Turnbull Government can no longer ignore its national security responsibilities in the wake of damning findings today by the Senate Inquiry into Flag of Convenience (FOC) Shipping.

 

The Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee report chronicles gaping holes in Australia's national security framework just one day after a Government announcement to create a new Ministry of Home Affairs.

 

FOC shipping refers to international trading vessels that are registered in tax havens such as Liberia, Panama and the Marshall Islands. These registries are renowned for their lax labour laws, poor investment controls and lack of ownership oversight.

 

The Australian Border Force Submission states: The Department notes that while a significant proportion of legitimate sea trade is conducted by ships with FOC registration, there are features of FOC registration, regulation and practice that organised crime syndicates or terrorist groups may seek to exploit. These features are: 

 

• a lack of transparency of the identity of shipowners and consequent impediment to holding the owner to account for a ship's actions; and 
• insufficient flag state regulatory enforcement and adherence to standards.

 

The Senate report states: "The committee maintains that [FOC] vessels present serious security risks to the Australian coast, which need to be properly addressed.

 

"The committee takes the view that, by not agreeing to review the current state of the maritime sector in Australia, the government is failing to address the serious security, economic, human rights and environmental vulnerabilities in the sector."

 

The committee called on the Federal Government to grow the Australian maritime industry in the face of what it calls "very real and current risks to our nation" posed by FOC vessels and their crew. 

 

ITF President Paddy Crumlin attacked the conservative Australian Government for intentionally encouraging the morally ambiguous - at times criminal - underbelly of FOC shipping.

 

"The Turnbull Government has allowed Australian seafarers to be replaced by FOC lawlessness that now threatens our very national security.

 

"Under their legislative abuses Australian seafarers, properly trained, security-screened and resident taxpayers have been sacked and their jobs in a domestic transport sector given away to whoever comes over the horizon without a word of inquiry about their background. 

 

"The solution is simple - stop destroying and start supporting and growing  our domestic shipping industry and the Australian working men and women that work there and in doing so we will help keep our borders safe," Mr Crumlin said.

 

ITF National Coordinator Dean Summers said the Inquiry had officially laid bare the murky world of FOC shipping that the Turnbull Government has so far chosen to ignore.

 

"The Senate Inquiry heard multiple accounts of the very worst of what FOC shipping has to offer - murders, gun-running, intimidation, bullying, harassment and slave labour," Mr Summers said.

 

"The appalling case of multiple murders at sea onboard the Sage Sagittarius was the basis for this Inquiry and serves as a shocking reminder of what can happen when an entire industry is little more than a race to the bottom.

 

The ITF applauded the committee's call for a comprehensive whole-of-government review into the potential economic, security and environmental risks presented by FOC shipping.

 

The committee said it was very concerned by FOC vessels carrying dangerous goods around Australia's coast, including ammonium nitrate and petroleum products. Last financial year, only 1,072 of the 15,715 commercial vessels arriving in Australia were searched by ABF.

 

"The committee is very disturbed by the many examples of job losses, poor working conditions, inadequate wages and deaths and disappearances at sea," it stated.

 

"To have seafarers disappearing and dying in and around Australian waters, and while in transit to Australian ports is unacceptable."

  

Committee Recommendations:

1. The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) implement an inspection program for ships with foreign seafarers to verify paid wages meet Australian legal requirements.
2. The Federal Government fund the FWO wages inspection program.
3. The Federal Government implement clear procedures on how to respond to deaths that occur on ships travelling in or to Australian waters.
4. The Federal Government consider legislative amendments to provide clarity on jurisdictional responsibility for investigating deaths on ships travelling in Australian waters.
5. The re-establishment of an advisory body made up of key maritime industry stakeholders to advise government on new Australian shipping policies and workforce development and training opportunities.
6. The Federal Government review the Australian maritime industry with a view to grow and support it.
7. The Federal Government review the potential economic, security and environmental risks presented by FOC vessels and foreign crew.

 

The report can be found at: http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Rural_and_Regional_Affairs_and_Transport/FOCShipping45/Report

 

Contact: Dean Summers 0419 934 648 or Darrin Barnett 0428 119 703

 

 

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/Noticias de prensa: International unions back Gate Gourmet workers in Argentina/Apoyo de sindicatos internacionales a los trabajadores y trabajadoras de Gate Gourmet en Argentina

Please find this release attached and below.

Yours,

Sam Dawson

ITF

 

 

14 July 2017

International unions back Gate Gourmet workers in Argentina

ITF (International Transport Workers' Federation) unions representing Gate Gourmet workers are lobbying the company today in support of the company's drivers and logistics workers in Argentina who are campaigning for recognition of the work they carry out. Currently the company treats them as food workers.

 

The drivers have asked for international solidarity ahead of workplace meetings today.

 

Around 200 drivers employed by Gategroup subsidiary Gate Gourmet Argentina SRL have fought a long campaign to be covered by the company's national collective agreement with the National Federation of Truck Drivers. For years they have been treated as food workers, subject to the conditions of a different collective agreement. The company has refused their claim because truck drivers' conditions are better and salaries are close to 40 percent higher than their current wages.

 

ITF general secretary Steve Cotton has written to Gategroup's chief executive officer, Xavier Rossinyol, urging him to get its Argentinian subsidiary to reestablish dialogue with the drivers' union, the National Federation of Truck Drivers (Federación Nacional de Trabajadores Camioneros de Argentina). He also expressed concern that the subsidiary was not respecting the agreement achieved with the union in July 2010 and had dismissed shop stewards, which the union considers is illegal.

 

Unions who have already pledged to act are the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (US), Parat (Norway), Unite the Union (UK), the Transport Workers' Union of Australia, UNITE HERE of the USA, and ver.di (Germany). 

 

Gabriel Mocho Rodriguez, ITF civil aviation secretary, said: "This is a classic – and very worrying – case of workers being denied their right to organise, and being subjected as a result to poorer working conditions on lower pay.  

 

"I urge all our civil aviation unions representing Gategroup workers to act immediately to persuade the company to right the wrong it has inflicted on its Argentinian drivers. If the company refuses to act, the workers may have to step up their legal protests."

 

Mr Cotton also wrote today to Argentina's labour minister, reiterating points made in an earlier letter (to which he received no response) that Gate Gourmet Argentina SRL was acting in violation of the principles of freedom of association contained in ILO Conventions 87 and 98, both ratified by the Republic of Argentina.

 

ENDS

 

 

14 July 2017

Apoyo de sindicatos internacionales a los trabajadores y trabajadoras de Gate Gourmet en Argentina

 

Sindicatos de la ITF (Federación Internacional de los Trabajadores del Transporte) representantes de trabajadores y trabajadoras de Gate Gourmet están presionando hoy a la compañía como medida de apoyo a los chóferes y trabajadores de logística de su filial argentina, que están luchando por que la empresa les reconozca las funciones que desempeñan. En la actualidad la compañía les trata como trabajadores de la alimentación.

 

Los camioneros han solicitado la solidaridad internacional antes de celebrar hoy sus asambleas en los lugares de trabajo.

 

Unos 200 camioneros empleados de la filial de Gategroup, Gate Gourmet Argentina SRL, llevan años luchando por que les incluyan en el convenio colectivo nacional que la compañía firmó con la Federación Nacional de Trabajadores Camioneros de Argentina. Desde hace años, Gate Gourmet trata a estos camioneros como trabajadores de la alimentación, cuyas condiciones están cubiertas por un convenio colectivo diferente. La compañía se niega a responder a esta demanda porque las condiciones del convenio colectivo de los camioneros son mejores y sus salarios son casi un 40 % superiores a los que cobran en la actualidad.

 

El secretario general de la ITF, Steve Cotton, escribió hoy al consejero delegado de Gategroup, Xavier Rossinyol, instándole a que ordene a su filial argentina a restablecer el diálogo con el gremio de los camioneros, la Federación Nacional de Trabajadores Camioneros de Argentina. También expresó su preocupación por que la filial no está respetando el acuerdo firmado con el sindicato en julio de 2010 y ha despedido a delegados sindicales, algo calificado de ilegal por el sindicato.

 

Los sindicatos que ya se han comprometido a solidarizarse son la International Brotherhood of Teamsters (Estados Unidos), Parat (Noruega), Unite the Union (Reino Unido), Transport Workers' Union of Australia, UNITE HERE (Estados Unidos) y Ver.di (Alemania).

 

Gabriel Mocho Rodríguez, secretario de Aviación Civil de la ITF, afirma: "Estamos ante un caso clásico –y muy preocupante – de trabajadores a los que se niega su derecho a la representación y, como consecuencia, padecen peores condiciones laborales y salariales. 

 

"Insto a todos nuestros sindicatos de aviación civil representantes de trabajadores y trabajadoras de Gategroup a ponerse en acción de inmediato, para convencer a la compañía de que corrija el error que está cometiendo con sus chóferes argentinos. Si la compañía se niega a actuar, los trabajadores y trabajadoras podrían verse obligados a intensificar sus protestas legales".

 

Cotton escribió hoy al ministro de Trabajo de Argentina, reiterando los puntos planteados en una carta enviada anteriormente (que no recibió respuesta) en la que denunciaba que Gate Gourmet Argentina SRL está violando los principios de libertad de asociación consagrados en los Convenios 87 y 98 de la OIT, ambos ratificados por la República Argentina.

 

 

FIN

 

 

 

 

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 applauds Thai Union and Greenpeace agreement on environmental standards and labour rights

Please find this release attached and below. For more details please contact: ITF Sydney Campaign Office: Australia +61402399572 or mediasydney@itf.org.uk

Yours,

Sam Dawson

ITF

 

 

12 July 2017

ITF applauds Thai Union and Greenpeace agreement on environmental standards and labour rights

Greenpeace and Thai Union have demonstrated that environmentalists and corporations can commit to working together to protect our oceans and the men and women who work on them. Transshipment at sea and unmonitored and unregulated fishing practices have led to the abuse of both our fishing stocks and the workers who bring those fish to our markets.

 

The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is encouraged by Thai Union's commitment to improving labour and environmental standards, which will help ensure that suppliers who work in the shadows – illegally fishing and violating workers' rights – will no longer be part of their supply chain. Through this agreement with Greenpeace, Thai Union has publicly re-affirmed its commitment to supporting freedom of association and collective bargaining throughout its own facilities and global supply chains, for all workers, including migrants.

 

Johnny Hansen, chair of the ITF fisheries section, said that while this is an important first step, Thai Union's commitments and progress will be heavily monitored by many – including Greenpeace and the ITF – to ensure real changes occur on the water and in this industry with the implementation of this agreement. 

 

Together with other activists, NGOs and unions around the globe, the ITF will work to ensure that Thai Union honours its pledges to improve conditions for their workers and minimise disruption in its seafood supply chains.

 

"Developing a strong code of conduct for all vessels in their supply chain, along with enforceable labour standards, is a central component of this agreement. The ITF commits to working alongside Thai Union, and Greenpeace, to ensure that the highest standards of workers' rights are respected in the seafood supply chain.

 

"This is an example of the ITF commitment to raising standards for all seafarers regardless of whether they work on a container ship or a fishing vessel. For far too long fishers have been an invisible part of the workforce, and this agreement recognises that all suppliers in the seafood supply chain should adhere to an ethical code of conduct.

 

"In an industry that has been characterised by high levels of exploitation, labour and human rights abuses and an absence of basic workplace rights, this agreement between Thai Union and Greenpeace is a recognition that the overall sustainability of the industry includes not only better fishing practices but a commitment to improve the treatment of its workforce, and ensure its suppliers do the same. Ultimately, the ITF wants to see enforceable collective bargaining agreements that protect the rights of fishers, vessel crews, and all workers throughout the supply chain.

 

"The ITF is committed to monitoring the implementation of this agreement to ensure that it delivers real change for fishers, and will to continue to campaign against other seafood companies who do not enforce high labour standards throughout their supply chain," Mr Hansen said. 

 

A summary of the agreement can be read at https://goo.gl/hSxd4V

 

ENDS

 

For more details please contact: ITF Sydney Campaign Office: Australia +61402399572 or mediasydney@itf.org.uk

 

 

 

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.

Nautilus Intl press release: Modern Slavery ‘Alive and Kicking’ in Merseyside According to Union

Please find attached and below this press release from ITF member union Nautilus International. For more information on this release please contact Jake Setterfield at Acceleris on 02034437126 / 0845 4567251 or DanS@acceleris-mc.com / JakeS@acceleris-mc.com.

 

Yours,

Sam Dawson

ITF

 

 

 

Modern Slavery 'Alive and Kicking' in Merseyside According to Union

Maritime Trade Union Nautilus International Protests to Highlight  Seafarers in Runcorn Working on $0.85 an Hour

 

Press Release

06 July 2017

Seafarers onboard a flag of convenience ship detained in the UK port of Runcorn have been suffering atrocious conditions in British waters, being paid wages as low as US$0.85 an hour. They were also found to be owed almost US$43,000 in back pay following checks by a maritime union inspector.

Nautilus International/ITF (International Transport Workers' Federation) ship inspector Tommy Molloy has lodged protests with the Turkish owners of the 1,596 Gross Tonnage general cargo ship Seccadi and the Panama ship registry over the shocking conditions onboard the vessel.

Wages identified on the contracts for the Turkish and Indian crew of the ship were below International Labour Organisation minimums and ranged between US$250 and US$700 per month for Able Seamen (ABs).

Mr Molloy said there was no fresh fruit, vegetables or meat onboard the ship and there was a cockroach infestation in the galley. He comments: "When crew are not paid for more than two months, not repatriated and do not have the basic food requirements to sustain a healthy diet, then they are considered to have been abandoned."

Mr Molloy said the crew had been promised owed wages when the ship called at Rijeka, Croatia, in May but nothing was forthcoming. The deficiencies amounted to a clear breach of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), he added, and the owners have another vessel detained in the port of Sharpness and another in Thirsk – both with similar problems.

"Despite the MLC 2006 we still see too many owners operating in this way,' he added. 'Human beings - in the form of crew - seem to be nothing more than a necessary evil to them. 85 cents per hour - when lucky enough to get paid - and no food or repatriation doesn't seem like too many levels up from slavery to me."

Mr Molloy added: "The North West Port Welfare Committee and the good people of Merseyside are rallying round and have taken it upon themselves to look after the crew's welfare. Fresh fruit and vegetables have been provided by the Seafarers Centre, who are also ensuring they have adequate shore leave as a diversion from their plight. Others have offered cash donations to cover their basic needs. That they do so speaks volumes for their good hearts. That they have to in 2017 is a disgrace."

He said an appeal had also been made to the vessel's insurers – Lodestar Marine – to meet their obligations to pay and repatriate the crew. "They have told us their enquiries are continuing and in the meantime the UK Border Force has given notice to remove – deport – the crew, and I can only conclude that the insurers would prefer this, with all of the negative ramifications for the crew, rather than paying out as we believe they are required to." To continue pressuring the government to change the outdated system, join Nautilus's CEC campaign and send a letter to your MP by visiting: https://nautilusint.org/en/what-we-say/nautilus-news/nautilus-uk-committee-launches-certificate-campaign/

ENDS

For more information, contact Dan Stead or Jake Setterfield at Acceleris on 02034437126 / 0845 4567251 or DanS@acceleris-mc.com / JakeS@acceleris-mc.com.

 

Notes to Editors

Nautilus International is the trade union and professional organisation for maritime professionals at sea and ashore. We represent 22,000 maritime professionals including ship masters (captains), officers, officer trainees (cadets) and shipping industry personnel, such as ship pilots, inland navigation workers, vessel traffic services operators (similar to air traffic control), harbourmasters, seafarers in the oil and gas industry, and shore-based staff.

 

 

 

 

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: Seafarers’ Trust seeks centres to research seafarer suicide

Please find this press release from the ITF Seafarers' Trust attached and below.

Yours,

Sam Dawson

ITF

 

 

 

 

Seafarers' Trust seeks centres to research seafarer suicide

 

The ITF Seafarers' Trust is putting out a Call for Expressions of Interest for collaborating centres to undertake vital research into suicide among seafarers.

 

Centres interested in participating are invited to submit a form explaining the outline of their proposed research. The closing date for submissions is Friday, 1 September 2017. 

 

Shortlisted applicants will then be invited to submit a full proposal for consideration by a panel of experts.

 

The research questions to be addressed are:

 

• the relationship between living and working at sea and mental distress or ill-health in both the short and long term;
• the effect of population variables within the international seafaring population on these relationships;
• whether there is an excess risk of suicide in seafarers compared to other professions; and
• what intervention methods have the potential to be used in seafaring populations to reduce any adverse effects of seafaring on mental ill-health and suicide.

 

The research will be used to encourage the industry to take steps to reduce mental distress and its serious consequences in seafarers, and to ensure that seafarers suffering from mental ill-health or the dependents of those who have suicided are not stigmatised.

 

Kimberly Karlshoej, Head of the ITF Seafarers' Trust, said: "The ITF Seafarers' Trust is a leader in promoting and improving the wellbeing of seafarers worldwide. We're getting a lot of anecdotal information on seafarers suiciding, however,  we need more evidence of the extent and causes of this problem. 

 

"This important research will explore the relationships between social isolation on board, depression and, in the worst cases, suicide. It will enable the maritime community to gain much-needed answers that will assist in understanding the extent of seafarers' mental health problems."

 

David Heindel, Chair of the ITF Seafarers' Trust, added: "The Seafarers' Trust already carries out some excellent work in relation to mental health. I welcome the move to commission this research and believe it will shed light on an often-hidden issue." 

 

Read more and download the Call for Expressions of Interest at https://goo.gl/quPktr.

 

The research is one of the strategic priorities developed by the Seafarers' Trust following its workshop with 50 experts in October 2016 to explore current knowledge and perspectives on social isolation, depression and suicide (SIDS). Read the report from the workshop and the associated review paper on the current state of knowledge at seafarerstrust.org/publications.

 

The ITF Seafarers' Trust was established by the ITF in 1981 as a UK registered charity. It is dedicated to the health and wellbeing of seafarers worldwide. The Trust's mission is 'to support the provision of services to maritime workers; invest in long-term programmes that improve seafarers' and their families' health & wellbeing; and act as a catalyst for positive change in the maritime community'.

 

ENDS

 

For more information please contact Kimberly Karlshoej, SIDS@seafarerstrust.org

 

 

 

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.

MUA Media Release: Turnbull Government Indifference Allows Another Aussie Ship To Sail Over Horizon

Please find this release from ITF member union the MUA attached and below.

Yours,

Sam Dawson

ITF

 

 

The Maritime Union Of Australia National Office
Paddy Crumlin - National Secretary I Will Tracey - Deputy National Secretary Ian Bray and Warren Smith - Assistant National Secretaries

Thursday 6 July 2017

 

Turnbull Government Indifference Allows Another Aussie Ship To Sail Over Horizon

 

The Turnbull Government must stand up for Australian jobs in blue water shipping after its administration of coastal shipping rules encouraged a major international employer to dump the crew on another Australian vessel.

 

The Canadian Steamship Lines (CSL) Thevenard recently sailed to China, purportedly for dry-docking, but the Aussie crew members were notified yesterday of their sacking and given their flights home.

 

MUA National Secretary Paddy Crumlin said the Turnbull Government could not allow the offshoring of jobs to continue by issuing temporary licences that allow cheap, foreign labour to be used instead of Aussie vessels and crew.

 

"The MUA is disgusted at the Turnbull Government's willful indifference to the plight of Australian seafarers and the Transport Minister must immediately cease issuing temporary licenses under the Coastal Trading ACT," MUA National Secretary Paddy Crumlin said.

 

"The Government needs to act in the national interest by ceasing the destruction of the bluewater shipping industry by allowing companies to use the cheapest, most highly exploited crews and a tax avoidance industry backing these ships.

 

"The issuing of temporary licences is done by the Government of the day. They have the power to deny companies such as CSL and if Turnbull and his ministers won't do it then the Government needs to change in favour of one that stands up for Australian jobs."

 

Crumlin said exploited crew on Flag of Convenience vessels earn as little as $1.20 an hour, have less training and are often unaware of our fragile coastal environment. They do not meet national security screening applying to Australian resident seafarers and are directly making Australian seafarers unemployed in effectively taking their jobs under this industry of rorting and vandalizing Australian workers rights. It's a national disgrace.

 

"Australian workers cannot compete with slave labour and systemic tax avoidance under the FOC system. We must maintain our blue water shipping industry on the grounds of national security, fuel security, protecting Australian jobs and the environment," he said.

 

ITF Cabotage Task Force Chair and Seafarers' International Union of Canada (SIU) president James Given said: "Despite pressure from shippers to decrease costs, CSL must provide international leadership and maintain decent standards of employment rather than engage in a race to the bottom."

 

ITF Maritime Coordinator Jacqueline Smith said: "The conservative government in Australia clearly has no intention to support its national shipping despite the importance maritime has for Australia, however CSL has had a longstanding relationship with MUA and we expect them to return to engagement on the long term maintenance of cabotage and Australian shipping."

 

The MUA remains concerned that international companies still use 457 visa holders on other vessels in its fleet that are trading on the Australian coast.

 

Crumlin wrote to Immigration Minister Peter Dutton in January urging the Department of Immigration and Border Protection to undertake an investigation into possible rorting of the 457 visa program.

 

"Those jobs should be filled by Australia workers first. That's why cabotage rules exist and the intent of the law needs to be followed by companies and governments alike," he said.

 

Media Contact: Darrin Barnett 0428 119 703

 

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.

In memoriam, Hanafi Rustandi

Please find this news attached and below. A full obituary also appears at https://goo.gl/FxCQeT

 

Yours,

Sam Dawson

ITF

 

 

4 July 2017

In memoriam, Hanafi Rustandi

The ITF (International Transport Workers' Federation) sadly announces the death of Hanafi Rustandi, its Asia Pacific region chair and president of Indonesian seafarers' union the KPI (Kesatuan Pelaut Indonesia).

 

Hanafi died suddenly last night in Tokyo, where he was part of the ITF delegation representing the world's seafarers and dockers at a meeting of the International Baragaining Forum (IBF). Hanafi was 72 years old.

 

ITF president Paddy Crumlin stated: "Farewell brother Hanafi, small in stature and giant at heart. Seafarer, trade unionist, labour leader and internationalist. Much loved. Man of humour, deep faith and family. Now at rest after Fighting from the Front to his last."

 

ITF general secretary Steve Cotton added: "It feels unbelievable that such a vibrant and ever-fighting personality is no longer with us. We grieve for him, and for his family, friends and union members. Hanafi was a battler for what he believed in. Right to the end he never deviated from that path."

 

Full statements of remembrance from Paddy Crumlin, Steve Cotton and Joe Fleetwood, general secretary of MUNZ, the Maritime Union of New Zealand, can be found at https://goo.gl/FxCQeT.

 

ENDS

 

Attachment

Photo of Hanafi Rustandi

 

 

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.