Unions have secured an important victory in the campaign for seafarers’ safety in early July as a Dutch court has ruled that ship managers, ship owners and charterers must honor a clause that prevents seafarers from being assigned dangerous lashing work where professional dock workers are available.

In 2020, the ITF, FNV Havens and Nautilus NL took the case against Marlow Cyprus, Marlow Netherlands and Expert Shipping over their refusal to adhere to the Non-Seafarers’ Work Clause to court in the Netherlands. The companies signed up to the agreement in 2018 and the clause came into force two years later.

The ruling from the Rotterdam District Court means that the companies who employ seafarers on shipowners’ behalf, must ensure that cargo handling must be performed by trained local dock workers where possible, and not given to seafarers as an additional responsibility.

The decision means greater safety for seafarers and also secures jobs for dockers.

The court emphasized the importance of the proper implementation of agreements reached through social dialogue and the binding nature of such agreements. It also reaffirmed the ‘Albany exemption’ which provides that collective bargaining agreements are exempt from certain requirements of EU competition law.

“The court makes clear that the parties are bound to the terms of the agreement. Given the weight attached to social dialogue within the European Union, and in the principle statements of companies – it is of paramount importance that they follow through. That starts with employers doing what they say they will,” said ITF President and Dockers’ Section Chair, Paddy Crumlin.

“Employers like those we’ve won this important case against, have been reminded this week by the court about what it actually means to be a social partner. It means doing what you say you’ll do. It means keeping your word.

“Seafarers, dockers and our unions have upheld our parts of the agreement, which has delivered these companies stable profits. This case is a big step forward in our campaign, but we won’t be happy until we get all charterers to respect the clause.

“Now, it is time for these employers, particularly short sea shipping charterers, to return to true social dialogue and restore good faith with unions, this must include working with shipowners to implement the Non-Seafarers’ Work Clause.

“Our industry has important issues to tackle together, and we will continue to be part of the IBF process that has improved wages and working conditions for seafarers for almost 20 years.”

ITF Dockers’ Section vice-chair Niek Stam, who is also the leader of Dutch dockers’ union FNV Havens, said the ruling was both a victory for seafarers’ safety and for dockers’ jobs.

“Those who don’t fight will never win. This is the only logical outcome of the lawsuit. Otherwise, a signature would no longer be worth anything. A deal is a deal,” said Stam.

“Lashing can be extremely unsafe for seafarers, who are often untrained in port operations, such as the dangers of moving cranes. Automated terminals and supply chain pressures have further increased these dangers to ships’ crew.”

ETF General Secretary Livia Spera said, “This ruling makes clear to shipowners and others that it is a legal requirement to honor the terms of a collective bargaining agreement.”

“This is the result of years of hard work from the union side and this verdict represents a victory for both seafarers and dockers. It is about the safety of our transport workers, it is about the obligation of the charterers to use the specialized workforce of dockers, and to not exploit seafarers’ safety in this way.”

Source: https://maritimefairtrade.org/dutch-court-sides-with-seafarer-unions-on-container-lashing-safety/

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) July 23 banned the Liberian-flagged oil tanker AG Neptune from Australian ports for six months. AMSA inspected the ship in the Port of Gladstone, in central Queensland, on 17 June 2022 after receiving a complaint regarding the underpayment of seafarers and welfare issues.

During the inspection, AMSA found evidence the employment agreement with 21 seafarers on board the ship had not been met and the crew members were collectively owed approximately AUD $123,000.

AMSA found evidence the food and drinking water were not of appropriate quality, quantity and nutritional value for seafarers. It is also understood a seafarer was not provided with adequate medical care after being injured onboard.

As a result, AMSA detained the ship for multiple breaches of the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC) and the operator has been directed to pay the outstanding wages and address the deficiencies.

AMSA’s Executive Director of Operations Michael Drake said the seafarers were repeatedly not paid at regular intervals and two crew members had expired Seafarer Employment Agreements.

“Australia has zero tolerance for the underpayment of crew. This type of behavior is unethical and in contravention to the MLC. The international conventions that protect seafarers’ rights are very clear,” Drake said.

“Ships visiting Australian ports are on notice that if we find deliberate underpaying of crew they can expect penalties.

“AMSA takes the MLC seriously and actively ensures seafarers’ health and well-being is upheld on all ships in Australia.”

Source: https://maritimefairtrade.org/australia-bans-oil-tanker-for-underpaying-wages-insufficient-food-and-water-onboard/

ITF Seafarers and Dockers Sections were vocal in their support for ver.di dock workers when unions met in London in early July. Maritime unions are mobilizing support for German ITF affiliate ver.di as the union battles port companies for an inflation-proof pay deal covering 12,000 dock workers.

Union leaders gathered in London expressed their solidarity with Germany’s dockers following recent strike action. ver.di is pushing for an annual, automatic inflation adjustment to be inserted into a renewed collective agreement with 58 ports and terminals.

“Rising prices for essential living expenses such as energy and food have become an unsustainable burden on German workers, especially for those lower paid workers,” said head of ver.di’s Maritime Section, Maya Schwiegershausen-Güth.

She said the employers, represented by the Central Association of German Seaport Companies (ZDS), have so far rejected the principle of inflation protection in talks with the union.

“These port companies plan to leave their staff alone to deal with the consequences of rising prices. They are willing to see dockers’ wages go backwards, eaten away by inflation. We cannot accept this, especially after all that dock workers have done for the employers and the common good.”

“Throughout the pandemic, dock workers have shown extraordinary commitment to their employers and to the German economy. For more than two years they have put up with family-impacting flexible work schedules, longer working hours, and rising workloads. Under all this pressure, dock workers have sacrificed,” said Schwiegershausen-Güth.

Now it was time for employers to recognize these efforts through a fair pay agreement, she said. “All of the employers and politicians who heaped praise on key workers during the pandemic should now be vocal in supporting our claim for fair inflation protection.”

“Appreciation without renumeration is meaningless – nice words will not pay the rent,” she added.

Inflation protection: Industry norm

ITF Dockers’ Section vice-chair Niek Stam said ITF and ETF dockers’ unions representing more than 500,000 workers were united in their support for ver.di as it sought an inflation-proof pay deal.

“What the German dockers are pushing for is not unreasonable, nor is it uncommon in our industry. All workers have a right to protect the wages that they bargain for from inflation,”

Stam, who is also leader of Dutch dockers’ union FNV Havens, said automatic inflation adjustment mechanisms had existed for decades in competitive ports’ agreements, such as those in Rotterdam and Antwerp.

“The shipping, port and gas companies are making record profits, pushing up prices for everyone else. They are the ones causing much of this inflation, not the workers. So why should the workers be punished for it?” he asked.

“Dockers move the world – we do not go backwards. We stand with our ver.di sisters and brothers.”

Source: https://maritimefairtrade.org/german-dock-workers-strike-for-inflation-protection/

At least 17 individuals lost their lives after a boat believed to be having dozens of migrants from Haiti capsized off the Bahamas while on the way to Florida on Sunday.

A 30-foot boat had almost 60 people. It sank in the waters off the New Providence Island at about 1 a.m. local time, Bahamian officials mentioned during a news briefing.

Relevant authorities detained two Bahamians who were thrown from the boat. They face manslaughter and human smuggling charges, officials reported. They were two of the 25 people that the rescuers discovered were latching onto the sinking boat.

Of the 17 people who died, one was male while 16 were female, reported Aubynette Rolle, the MD of the Bahamas’ Public Hospitals Authority. There was a child around the age of 4 or 5 years.

A rise in the number of Haitian migrants over the recent years has attempted to travel by sea to Florida and Puerto Rico. Immigration lawyers and researchers have to say that the migrants could be fleeing the ongoing economic and political turmoil in Haiti.

A year after the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, gang violence worsened. Haiti has gone into a freefall that has witnessed the fall of the economy.

Trials to form a coalition government have faltered. Similarly, efforts to hold general elections have also stalled. The ongoing turmoil has led a growing number of individuals to flee Haiti, which comprises more than 11 million in the search for a safer and better life.

Several sinking cases involving migrants have taken place in the Caribbean waters this year, including one in May 2022, in which 11 individuals were declared dead and 38 were rescued from Puerto Rico.

One more incident in January 2022 saw a man being rescued and another being confirmed dead after a boat that had 40 migrants reportedly sank off Florida. The missing were never found.

Governments in the region, including the US, have reported a rise in the number of Haitians detained when attempting to enter other nations.

References: France24, DailyTimes

The U.S. Navy sees its future fleet comprised of more than 350 manned ships and about 150 unmanned ships hoping technology means lower operating costs as it prepares to counter a growing Chinese fleet, according to a Navy report released Tuesday.

The plan for the 2040s and beyond underscored “the need to address long-term competition with China and sustain military advantage against Russia”. It forecasts fleet numbers up slightly from a 2021 Navy long-range shipbuilding plan which had a range of 321 to 372 manned ships and 77 to 140 large unmanned vessels.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc and General Dynamics Corp are the largest shipbuilders in the United States with other weapons makers like Boeing Co working on unmanned ships programs.

Today the Navy has 298 ships in its “battle force” which ignores scores of resupply and logistics ships.

The Navy’s proposed fiscal year 2023 budget requested $27.9 billion in shipbuilding funding for eight new ships, including two Virginia class attack submarines, two Arleigh Burke destroyers, and one Constellation frigate.

The U.S. Congress is working to add ships to the Navy’s fleet.

Source: https://www.marinelink.com/news/us-navy-boost-aspirations-unmanned-fleet-498306