ITF Names Black Sea 'Sea of Shame'
The International Transport Federation (ITF) informs that its multinational week of action with maritime unions in ports around the Black Sea has brought results, and the Federation has challenged conditions for seafarers working on what it has called the "Sea of Shame". The ITF says the Black Sea remains one of the most dangerous places on earth to be a seafarer. The action by inspectors and union members in Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine came as the ITF published an updated version of its 2012 report, Black Sea of Shame. The new report found continuing poor standards of living and working conditions, low wages…
Unions Take Action On ‘Sea Of Shame’
The ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) and its affiliated unions are launching a week of action today from ports on the Black Sea to combat what an updated report from the organisation finds are still shocking levels of crew abuse and unseaworthy vessels there. Two years after the ITF and its unions in Black Sea countries launched an intensive campaign to expose these shameful conditions (see http://bit.ly/1ojQpj6), it remains one of the most dangerous places on earth to be a seafarer. This week of action is the latest step in the campaign to publicise and improve that disgraceful situation. Joint teams of ITF inspectors and union activists in Bulgaria…
ITF Wins Promise for Investigation into Death Threats
The ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) has won a promise from the Honduran ambassador to the U.K. to investigate death threats and victimization of trade unionists in the city of Puerto Cortés. A high-level delegation made up of Steve Cotton, ITF acting general secretary; Paddy Crumlin, ITF president; Victor Crespo, president of the ITF-affiliated Sindicato Gremial de Trabajadores del Muelle (SGTM); and Tomas Abrahamsson, ITF maritime coordinator, won the assurance in a meeting with Ambassador Romero-Martinez yesterday.
