Global daily news 24.03.2014

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***ITF wins death threats investigation promise



The ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) has won a promise from the Honduran ambassador to the UK to investigate death threats and victimisation 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.
Meanwhile members of the ITF dockers’ section committee, representing port workers worldwide, held a demonstration outside the embassy calling for ‘negotiation not intimidation’ (see pictures attached).
SGTM members have been subject to a catalogue of human and trade union rights abuses in Puerto Cortés, where global terminal operator ICTSI won the concession to run the port in September 2012. The union has been trying to negotiate with the company’s subsidiary in Honduras over a collective bargaining agreement for workers.
Victor Crepso has faced death threats and an attempt on his life, and had to leave the country for his own protection. His father was later killed in suspicious circumstances.
Meanwhile SGTM members taking part in legitimate and peaceful protests both in Honduras and at an ICTSI terminal in Portland, USA, were sought by Honduran police for arrest, in some cases detained and charged with crimes against the state.
Speaking from the steps of the embassy, Paddy Crumlin said: “We have had a productive, open and frank conversation. The ambassador has agreed that there should be an investigation into the abuses of trade union rights, and human rights being reported in Puerto Cortés. We have all agreed, all of us, that engagement from all sides is essential if we’re to bring about an end to this situation.”
FROM MARINELINK:
***ITF Wins Promise for Investigation into Death Threats
Posted by Michelle Howard
Friday, March 21, 2014
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.

Meanwhile members of the ITF dockers’ section committee, representing port workers worldwide, held a demonstration outside the embassy calling for ‘negotiation not intimidation’.

SGTM members have been subject to a catalogue of human and trade union rights abuses in Puerto Cortés, where global terminal operator ICTSI won the concession to run the port in September 2012. The union has been trying to negotiate with the company’s subsidiary in Honduras over a collective bargaining agreement for workers.

FROM FIT-CISL:

***Seamen, starts tomorrow the International Seminar on Mlc 2006 with Itf and Icwtwu
On 25th and 26th March 2014 in Rome, at Idea Plus Z3 hotel, Fit/Cisl and International Confederation of Water Transport Workers’ Union of the Republics of the ex Soviet Union (Icwtwu),  will take part in a seminar entitled “Ilo Mlc 2006 Convention”.
The seminar purpose is to examine the Mlc and its consequences.
The participants are the following: Giovanni Luciano, Fit-Cisl General Secretary, Remo Di Fiore, Itf Fit-Cisl, Georgy Stoliarenko, Icwtwu President, Laurence Martin, Confitarma – Responsible of the international relations, Ugo Milone, Fit-Cisl National Dockers Coordinator, Emanuela Colandrea, Fit-Cisl, Giovanni Olivieri, Fit-Cisl National Maritime transport Coordinator, Giovanni Greco, Head of First Section of the Italian Port Authorities –  General Command, Ivo Guidi, Esa, andPaolo Cavanna, Advisor of the Italian Sea Apostolate “Stella Maris”.
On 27th March, the participants will visit Fiumicino port to commemorate the first strike declared on 15th May 1990 by the crewmembers of an Ex Union Soviet vessel, called Novorossiysk.
This historical episode had a big resonance on all the media. At the commemoration there will be also two Russian seamen who took part at such strike.
Participants list and the complete Agenda are here attached.
For further information
Fit-Cisl Press Office
+39 366 7878568

FROM LONDRA GAZETE:
***İngiliz sendikacılardan Türkiye ile Dayanışma Platformu

— 19 Mart 2014

SPOT’un kuruluş bildirilerini Day-Mer Sekreteri Oktay Şahbaz okudu.

SPOT’un kuruluş bildirilerini Day-Mer Sekreteri Oktay Şahbaz okudu.
Aralarında sendikalar, sivil toplum örgütleri ve Türk-Kürt Toplumu Dayanışma Merkezi Day-Mer’in bulunduğu bir grup oluşum, ‘Türkiye Halklarıyla Dayanışma Kampanyası’ (SPOT) isimli bir platform kurdu.
Geçen yıl Haziran ayında yaşanan Gezi protestolarını gözlemlemek üzere Türkiye’ye giden sendikacılar heyetinin önerisiyle kurulan oluşumun açılış toplantısı 8 Mart Cumartesi günü gerçekleştirildi. Londra Toplum Merkezi’nde yapılan toplantıya  Londra’da bulunan Halkların Demokrasi Partisi İstanbul milletvekili Levent Tüzel ve HDP Sarız Belediye Başkan Adayı Derviş Altun da katıldılar.
Kuruluş toplantısında HDP İstanbul milletvekili Levent Tüzel de yer aldı.

Kuruluş toplantısında HDP İstanbul milletvekili Levent Tüzel de yer aldı.
İngiltere’de milyonlarca üyesi bulunan RMT, NUT, ITF, PCS ve UNITE gibi sendikaların desteklediği SPOT,  Türkiye’deki gelişmeleri yakından takip edecek ve İngiltere kamuoyunu da bilgilendirecek. Sendikacıların ve sivil toplum örgütü temsilcilerinin yanı sıra politikacılar,LGBT örgütleri, çevreciler ve başta Glasgow Celtic olmak üzere futbol takımları taraftarlarının da destek verdiği SPOT, lobi çalışmalarına da öncelik verecek.
Türkiye halkları ile aktif bir dayanışma içinde olacaklarını belirten kampanya temsilcileri, temel hak ve özgürlüklerin korunması ve güçlendirilmesi konusunda çalışmalar yürüteceklerini bildirdiler.
Day-Mer Sekreteri Oktay Şahbaz’ın kuruluş bildirilerini okuduğu toplantıda sendikacılar da söz alarak birer konuşma yaptılar. Bu konuşmacılardan, Haziran ayında Gezi Parkı’na giden grupta yer alan Demiryolları Sendikası Genel Sekreter Yardımcısı Steve Hedley, Türkiye ile yakından ilgilendiğini belirterek, Taksim’de yaşadığı tecrübeyi ve polisin sert müdahalelerini anlattı.  Hedley anti demokratik uygulamalara dikkat çekmek için geniş çaplı bir kampanyanın yürütülmesi gerektiğini savundu.
SPOT’un kamuoyuna tanıtım toplantısına katılarak bir konuşma yapan HDP İstanbul milletvekili Levent Tüzel de bu tür oluşumlarının Türkiye’deki demokrasi mücadelesine katkı sağlayacağına inandığını ifade etti.
SPOT 2
FROM EU NEWS:
European Commission
MEMO
Brussels, 21 March 2014
***Commission clarifies EU rules for public passenger transport by rail and by road – Frequently Asked Questions
Regulation (EC) N°1370/2007 on public passenger transport services by rail and by road defines rules on how to contract for the provision of public transport services by rail, metro, tram or bus, how to award these contracts and how to compensate for public service obligations. The Commission is now enhancing legal certainty for all actors in public transport by providing guidelines on key provisions of the Regulation.
1. Why are interpretative guidelines needed for Regulation 1370/2007?
The Regulation was adopted in 2007 after about 10 years of preparation and negotiation. It has been in force since December 2009. During the negotiations, it proved very difficult to find a political compromise on some provisions of the Regulation which are, as a consequence, not always clear and sometimes open to different interpretations.
In 2011, the Commission commissioned an assessment of the implementation of the Regulation, which showed that the regulatory and contractual practices vary considerably due to diverging interpretations of certain provisions of the Regulation1. In addition, existing public service contracts do not yet respect all EU rules.
There is a significant need for guidance on the interpretation of various provisions of the Regulation in view of ensuring that future contracts will be compliant with EU rules on the award of public service contracts and on state aid (e.g. related to the definition of Public Service Obligations, rules on compensation, possibility of subcontracting by the operator to which a contract has been directly awarded, definition of the internal operator to which contracts may be awarded directly, rules on transitional periods).
Legal clarification has also been underlined forcefully by participants representing all groups of stakeholders at an international workshop that the Commission organised on 14 November 2011 on the implementation of the Regulation2. Organisations and associations such as, for instance, the EIB (European Investment Bank), ETF (European Transport workers), EPTO (European Passenger Transport Operators), UITP (International Association of Public Transport), CEEP (European Centre for Employers and Enterprises providing Public services) and CER (Community of European Railway and Infrastructure companies) strongly supported the idea of Commission interpretative guidelines on the Regulation.
2. What provisions do the Commission’s interpretative guidelines cover?
The guidelines cover those provisions that have been signalled to the Commission as being unclear. These points have been brought to the attention of the Commission for instance through questions from MEPs and complaints, as well as through queries from market stakeholders, national authorities and legal counsels in Member States.
In particular, the guidelines cover the definition of public service obligations and general rules, the duration and subcontracting of public service contracts and social protection in the case of a change of operator. The guidelines also cover the conditions of competitive awards and of direct awards of public service contracts, the rules on compensating public service obligations to ensure that markets are not distorted and public money spent efficiently. Finally, the document covers transparency rules and transitional arrangements in the Regulation.
3. What will be the impact of these guidelines?
The guidelines simply provide guidance for implementing existing requirements, which have been adopted by the European Parliament and the Council.
Therefore, they will not imply any costs to stakeholders as they will not – and cannot – create new obligations. They do not modify the existing rules but aim at facilitating the implementation of Regulation 1370/2007. In fact, they will only generate benefits in terms of increased legal certainty.
4. Are the guidelines coherent with the proposed revision of Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 in the framework of the 4th railway package?
The guidelines have a different objective (i.e. interpretation of existing law) than the proposed amendment of Regulation 1370/2007 in the framework of the 4th railway package (i.e. opening of the market for domestic passenger transport by rail) (see IP/13/65). However, there are a few overlaps (e.g. the possibility of a direct award of a public service contract in rail, the definition of local competent authority, rules on the transition period) and hence the Commission has sought for full coherence between the texts of the two documents. If the European legislator endorses the Commission’s proposals of the 4th railway package, it could well be that certain provisions of the interpretative guidelines would not be relevant anymore. The European Commission will then inform stakeholders accordingly.
More information:
DLA Piper, Study on the implementation of Regulation (EC) N° 1370/2007 on public passenger transport services by rail and by road, 31 October 2010, published at http://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/rail/studies/rail_en.htm
Documents on the conference are published at http://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/rail/events/2011-11-14-workshop_en.htm
FROM INTERFAX (RUSSIA):
***Россияне с задержанного в Ливане сухогруза обратились за помощью в международный профсоюз
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Новороссийск. 19 марта. INTERFAX.RU – В Международной федерации транспортных рабочих (МФТ) внимательно следят за судьбой российских моряков на молдавском судне Rhosus (Ливан), оставшихся без средств к существованию в порту Бейрута с октября 2013 года, сообщила инспектор МФТ в Новороссийске Ольга Ананьина.
“На борту находятся 4 человека: капитан Борис Прокошев, старший механик Валерий Луппол, 3-й механик Андрей Головешкин и боцман Борис Мусинчак. Судно задержано в порту Бейрута. По информации капитана, консульство России никаких мер по оказанию помощи россиянам не предпринимает”, – сказала Ананьина агентству “Интерфакс” в среду.
В обращении, которое моряки направили представителю МФТ и в Российский профсоюз моряков, отмечается, что сухогруз Rhosus задержан в Бейруте из-за грубых нарушений правил эксплуатации, выявленных инспекторами портового контроля, а также невыплаты заработной платы экипажу.
“У судовладельца (кипрской компании Teto Shipping. – ИФ) полностью нет денег ни на зарплату экипажу, ни на оплату различных портовых сборов за стоянку”, – говорится в письме.
Особую тревогу у капитана и моряков вызывает тот факт, что в трюмах Rhosus находится особо опасный груз – нитрат аммония (аммиачная селитра), который портовые власти Бейрута не разрешают выгружать или перегружать на другое судно.
В таких обстоятельствах, говорится в обращении, судовладелец не способен продать судно или перенаправить его в другой порт.
Международная федерация транспортных рабочих – всемирная организация. Она состоит из 621 профсоюза работников транспорта, объединяющих около 5 млн рабочих из 137 стран мира.

Смотрите оригинал материала на http://www.interfax.ru/365792

FROM SOCDEISTVIE:

***МФТ помогла вернуть зарплату трем экипажам
 23:51
Международная федерация транспортников (МФТ) в Германии пришла на помощь 41 моряку – филиппинцам, россиянам и украинцам – с трех контейнеровозов «Maersk Vigo», «Maersk Valetta» и «Maersk Vancouver» (флаги Гибралтара) и помогла вернуть заработную плату.

Экипажи трех судов оказались в затруднительном положении в июле прошлого года: судовладелец бросил их на произвол судьбы близ острова Вангерог в Северном море. Моряки вынуждены были ловить рыбу, чтобы прокормить себя. Чуть позже в августе им разрешили зайти в порт Вильгельмсхафен, где большинство моряков смогли сойти на берег и вернуться домой.

Тем временем МФТ от имени членов экипажей инициировала арест судов, чтобы обеспечить выплату денег морякам. Дело оказалось выигрышным: немецкая Фемида обязала марокканского судовладельца погасить долги перед экипажами, а также выплатить морякам, оставшимся на судах, компенсацию в размере $4 тысяч за вынужденное нахождение в порту для обеспечения безопасности мореплавания в районах стоянки контейнеровозов.

«Это первый случай, когда МФТ в Германии смогла выиграть выплату компенсации за то, что люди тратили свое трудовое время, в которое они могли работать в хорошей компании и зарабатывать достойные деньги вместо того, чтобы охранять брошенные суда», – прокомментировала инспектор МФТ Сьюзан Линдеркамп.

Вот что написал один из моряков в адрес МФТ после того, как получил деньги: «Спасибо за работу, которую вы делаете, и борьбу, которую ведете за права моряков. Спасибо за все ваши усилия. Я и моя семья высоко ценим то, чего вам удалось добиться».

Добавим, что три контейнеровоза «Maersk Vigo», «Maersk Valetta» и «Maersk Vancouver» были проданы британской судоходной компании «Borealis Maritime». Теплоходы переименованы в «Bomar Victory», «Bomar Vanquish» и «Bomar Valour».


FROM KAVZAK UZEL (RUSSIA):
***Экипаж задержанного в Грузии украинского судна просит о помощи
В Грузии экипаж судна из Украины, задержанного в порту Поти четыре месяца назад, просит о помощи. Четыре члена экипажа, оставшиеся на борту, по их словам, не получили зарплаты за полгода.
Корабль был задержан за загрязнение морской акватории. Потийский городской суд принял решение наложить штраф на капитана судна и выплату компенсации на судовладельца, но капитан и семеро моряков, не заплатив денег, вернулись на Украину.
Остальные четверо членов команды всё это время находятся на борту корабля. К ним приехали сотрудники Национальной администрации морского транспорта Грузии и передали продукты питания и лекарства, сообщает «Тбилисская неделя».
Грузинская сторона обратилась в суд с иском против судовладельца компании Med Global Group Ltd из-за неуплаты штрафа. Дело находится в стадии рассмотрения.
Суд в Грузии 16 марта принял решение выставить на продажу судно того же владельца, теплоход Roksolana 1, также задержанный ранее в Грузии. По данным суда, Med Global Group Ltd не предприняла попыток вернуть себе корабль, выплатив членам экипажа $78 тыс.
По данным пресс-службы Российского профессионального союза моряков, члены команды получат зарплату только после продажи корабля, передает «Грузия онлайн».
Еще один корабль компании, Roksolana 2, задержан в Новороссийске. В планах представителей Российского профсоюза моряков (РПСМ) и Международной федерации транспортников (МФТ) инициировать арест судна, чтобы моряки получили зарплаты.
FROM FAIRPLAY:
Korea to block giant shipping alliance

South Korea’s antitrust regulator said on Monday that it will join forces with its counterparts in China and other countries to ensure fair treatment for smaller players ahead of a mega alliance of the world’s top three container carriers.

It is now one of its goals to stop P3, the big alliance of Maersk, CMA CGM and MSC, an official at the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) told local press.

“We have sent a letter to the Chinese antitrust authority seeking joint action on the matter,” the official told local press.

South Korean and other Asian shipping firms are “deeply worried that an approval of the strongest shipping alliance would deal a bigger blow to their bottom lines.” Small- and mid-sized shipping companies have been suffering from lower rates and higher costs since the 2008 financial crisis, an official from the Korea Ship Owners’ Association (KSA) said.

The KSA official said Korean shipping companies such as Hanjin Shipping, Hyundai Merchant Marine and STX Pan Ocean had asked the FTC to attach “strong” conditions to ensure fair competition between big and small players.

P3, once approved, would control over 50% of Asia-Europe routes and about 30% of trans-Pacific routes, according to the KSA.