Advance invitation to press: LISW event 12 September

Please find this joint advance notice invitation from IMEC and the ITF attached and below.

Yours,

Sam Dawson

 

29 August 2017. Advance notice invitation to press

LISW2017 event: Sustainable Partnerships in Shipping

The ITF (International Transport Workers' Federation) and IMEC (International Maritime Employers' Council) invite members of the press and other interested parties to a special presentation on 12 September as part of London International Shipping Week 2017.

 

The event, Sustainable Partnerships in Shipping, will cover the challenges, breakthroughs and lessons learnt by both organisations during 14 years of working together. It will be held on Tuesday September 12th from 12:00 to 14:30 at ITF House, 49-60 Borough Road, London SE1 1DR. It will include a Q&A session, and refreshments will be served.

 

Find out more and join us on September 12th using the Click here link at www.itf-imec.org

 

ENDS

For more details please contact

ITF. Sam Dawson. Email: dawson_sam@itf.org.uk

IMEC. Adam Lewis. Email: adam.lewis@imec.org.uk

 

About IMEC and the ITF

IMEC is the only international employers' organisation dedicated to maritime industrial relations. Established over fifty years ago, it operates from offices in London, UK, and Manila in the Philippines and represents over 220 shipping companies located all over the world. You can find out more at www.imec.org.uk

The ITF is a global federation representing over 16.5 million workers worldwide in 654 transport workers' unions in 148 countries worldwide. You can find out more at www.itfglobal.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.

Press release: International fashion brand leaders call on Madagscar to respect intl labour standards and reinstate workers

Please find this release attached and below.

 

If you have related inquiries please contact: ITF Asia Pacific Campaign Centre, Sydney, Australia.

Tel: +61402399572.  Email: mediasydney@itf.org.uk

 

Yours,

Sam Dawson ITF

 

3 August 2017

International fashion brand leaders call on Madagascar to respect international labour standards and reinstate workers

The Government of Madagascar is coming under increasing international pressure to resolve a major industrial dispute at the ICTSI Port of Toamasina. Today, local union leader Lucien Razafindraibe will deliver a joint letter from international fashion brands to the Madagascan Labour Minister in the Madagascan capital, Antananarivo.

Paddy Crumlin, president of the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) and chair of its dockers' section today welcomed news that Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) member brands Marks and Spencer, Skins Ltd, Next Plc and Men's Warehouse UK have joined the campaign to help end the exploitation of Madagascan dockworkers.

"These major international brands join Levi's and Esprit in demonstrating leadership and recognising that the transport workers, who move their clothing from the factory to stores around the world, deserve to be treated fairly.

"ITF challenged global brands sourcing from Madagascar to step up and support the rights of dockworkers at the Port of Toamasina, and the response has been positive. We've seen concrete steps to support these workers, with brands writing directly to the Government of Madagascar calling on them to enforce international labour standards, reinstate 43 unfairly dismissed dockworkers and allow SYGMMA to represent workers at the port.

Category Leader of Apparel and Textiles at ETI, Martin Buttle, said "Not only were we concerned for the dock workers themselves, we were also concerned that action against legitimate union activity would deter investor confidence in Madagascar as a future sourcing market.

"In the letter to the government, we confirmed that our members wanted to continue sourcing from Madagascar but equally had to consider obligations to comply with international standards. With the full support of our members, we therefore asked that the government of Madagascar take steps to enforce its labour laws, ensure that the 43 dock workers were reinstated and allow the union to organise at the port."

Mr Crumlin added that, "The success of the public campaigning and private engagement shows quite clearly that for transport companies, like ICTSI, labour rights abuses may be part of their business model, but for fashion brands labour rights violations in their supply chains represent such a significant risk to the value of their brand that they are prepared to use their market influence to advocate for these workers."

The garment industry is the largest employer of workers in the formal economy in Madagascar, employing 30 per cent of the formal workforce. As a result, this intervention from leading brands cannot be ignored by the Government of Madagascar.

"ITF is looking to the Government of Madagascar to show leadership, and step in to defend these workers' basic human rights against ICTSI's aggressive campaign to drive down their wages and conditions. These workers have waited long enough." Mr Crumlin said.

ENDS

 

For more details, please contact:

Luke Menzies, ITF Asia Pacific Campaign Centre, Sydney

+61 433 889 844 | menzies_luke@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.

Press release: ITF mobilises international support for Indonesian dockers

Please find this release attached and below.

 

If you have related inquiries please contact: ITF Asia Pacific Campaign Centre, Sydney, Australia.

Tel: +61402399572.  Email: mediasydney@itf.org.uk

 

Yours,

Sam Dawson ITF

 

 

2 August 2017

ITF mobilises international support for Indonesian dockers

The ITF (International Transport Workers' Federation) is mobilising international support for dock workers in Indonesia, who are striking and protesting tomorrow.

 

ITF member union Serikat Pekerja Jakarta International Container Terminal (SPJICT) will be striking from 3 until 10 August over ruthless attacks to workers' rights – in particular to pension rights and performance bonuses – which terminal management has been pursuing in the course of negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement.

 

The union has been organising at the largest container terminal at the Port of Tanjung Priok, Jakarta since 1999, and has worked since then to ensure that the port's workers are treated with respect and dignity.

 

Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT) has been run as a joint enterprise between Indonesian state-owned enterprise PELINDO II and global port operator Hutchison since 1999. JICT has just been granted an extension on its operating contract until 2039.  However, in June, Indonesia's Audit Board (BPK) announced that the JICT extension was contrary to local laws and is actually depriving the local state of potential revenue.

 

The extension deal is now being probed by the Indonesian anti-corruption commission, Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK). According to the union, management is using the port extension as a smoke-screen to extract more profit from the enterprise by crushing workers' rights.

 

SPJICT chair, Nova Hakim, has issued a call for solidarity, saying: "We urge our comrades in the ITF to support our strike in defence of our national asset, and in protecting the rights of our members. This port extension is robbing the Indonesian people, and we cannot stand idly by."

 

ITF president and dockers' section chair Paddy Crumlin commented: "ITF dockers' unions everywhere will be backing our Indonesian colleagues with lawful solidarity action and messages of support. They say that a fish rots from the head down and this wave of industrial action, coupled with other action at Tanjung Priok proves that something is seriously wrong with labour relations in at the port – something that the employers and government must remedy immediately."

 

At the same time to the JICT action, dockworkers at ICTSI's terminal at Tanjung Priok will escalate their own fight for justice to coincide with the start of the SJICT strike, and take action to resist harsh management practices. The workers' union, the Federasi Serikat Buruh Transportasi dan Pelabuhan Indonesia (FBTPI) has announced it will hold a mass demonstration at the port on Thursday to demand that management end illegal outsourcing, pay unpaid overtime and settle a fair collective agreement with the union.

 

Follow the strikes and the solidarity from ITF unions on Twitter at #justice4jakarta

ENDS

 

For more details please contact

ITF Asia Pacific Campaign Centre, Sydney, Australia.

Tel: +61402399572 | Email: 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.

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.