The week-long action against the continued growth of the Flags of Convenience (FOC) and sub-standard shipping commenced at the Cochin Port Trust on Monday with the inspection of a sulphur vessel anchored in the berth.
The action programme that commenced at the instance of International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is a part of the ongoing global campaign to highlight the dangers posed by FOC vessels to the crew and to the oceans they sail through. At Cochin Port, members of the Seafarers and Dockers unions-the Cochin Port Staff Association, the National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) and the Forward Seamen Union of India (FUSI)-have come together for the week-long protest.
The ITF Inspector at Kochi, Mr Thomas Sebastian, along with other activists and volunteers had inspected the vessel, MV Ocean Frontier, and found that the vessel was not covered with ITF-approved agreement. He said that the vessel was lacking several safety norms and the crew was paid low wages. The vessel, owned by an Iranian company and registered in Panama, was also subjected to certain repairs as per the instructions of Port State Control, he said, adding that the owners have been asked to sign an ITF-approved Collective Bargaining Agreement for the vessel.
This year particular emphasis will be made on booking erring crew companies and manning agents. The Ministry of Shipping and particularly the Ministry of Indian Overseas Affairs have framed stringent rules to control the erring companies, Mr Sebastian said.
The ITF has been campaigning against the FOC for more than half a century by establishing a network of Inspectors to investigate suspect ships and win back pay for seafarers, and also by negotiating with the owners of FOC vessels to ensure that the seafarers are protected by the minimum standard outlined in ITF Collective Bargaining Agreements.
The India/Sri Lanka week of action will also seek to focus attention on issues facing the port and dock workers. Privatisation and de-regulation of the ports has seriously deteriorated the terms and conditions of regular port workers, and also led to more casual contract and temporary workers being employed, making it more difficult to organise.
With more and more Global Network Terminal's (GNT's) dominating Indian and Sri Lankan ports, casual non-union employment is on the rise and the unions have a challenging task ahead of them.
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