Global daily news 01.04.2014

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***ITF President Weighs in on Multimillion Dollar Fisheries Dispute


International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) president Paddy Crumlin has met with key stakeholders in Auckland, New Zealand, about the ongoing campaign to secure NZD30 million in unpaid wages for fishers in the region.

***Maritime unions gather to strengthen South Pacific trade unionism

The ITF has contributed to Slave Free Seas’ campaign to claim outstanding wages in the vicinity of NZD30 million through the New Zealand courts.

Crumlin met with senior union representatives from Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, the Slave Free Seas advocacy group and the Merchant Service Guild as part of the Regional Maritime Federation meeting.

The Regional Maritime Federation brings together maritime unions from Australia, New Zealand and PNG to try to build trade union capacity in the region.

Crumlin, who is also Maritime Union of Australia national secretary, said it was imperative that fisheries workers get better wages and conditions in an industry in which 24,000 people die across the world each year.

“Slave Free Seas acts on behalf of fishers where they have no representation and legal redress,” Crumlin said.

“We commend the initiative of Slave Free Seas as we try to break apart the industrial model upon which commercial fishing is built because it is akin to modern day slavery.”

Maritime Union of New Zealand National Secretary Joe Fleetwood said the New Zealand Parliament needed to pass its fishing slavery laws as a matter of urgency.

“The bill has now been pushed number 27 on the parliamentary bills list, placing it in real danger of not being addressed before the upcoming national election,” Fleetwood said. “This is outrageous. The New Zealand Government is missing in action when it comes to protecting the rights and welfare of fishers in our region.”

It is almost two years since the government concluded a ministerial Inquiry into the use of foreign charter vessels after national and international accusations of slave labor in New Zealand waters.

The legislation to implement the recommendations, including a requirement that all vessels be New Zealand flagged by 2016, is yet to be passed.

New Zealand’s use of cheap labor on fishing boats was scathingly labeled ‘21st Century slavery’ in a U.S. State Department report released in mid-2012.

It cited conditions of forced labor, including debt bondage, imposition of significant debts, physical violence, mental abuse and excessive hours of work aboard vessels in New Zealand waters.

The issue was mentioned more recently in the Global Slavery Index and will continue to be an embarrassing topic of discussion until the Government gets its act together and passes the necessary law.

FROM SHIPPING TRIBUNE (INDIA):
Posted on March 29, 2014 by admin
Maritime Unions have met in Auckland, New Zealand, to work towards a Regional Maritime Federation to build union strength throughout the South Pacific.
The meeting brought together the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), the Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ), the Papua New Guinea Maritime and Transport Workers Union (MTWU), the Australian Maritime Officers Union (AMOU) and the Merchant Service Guild (MSG).
All are affiliates of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).
ITF president and national secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia Paddy Crumlin said the purpose and focus of the federation is to strengthen the capacity of the unions in the transport sector to effectively represent the interests of their members, as well as to increase the capacity of the union movement in the region.
Mr Crumlin said it was a positive development to have a number of observer unions present at the meeting who played important roles in the maritime industry.
“What we are seeking to do is form a Regional Maritime Federation with a real structure that is accountable, with proper rules, so we can sit with employers in the region and talk about how we can deliver productivity and safety,” Mr Crumlin said.
“There are many areas of common interest we are working on, including the growing offshore resources sector and the fisheries sector.”
ITF acting general secretary Steve Cotton added: “It’s great to see strong ITF unions working together to strengthen not only their members’ rights, but also to address issues regionally and internationally. This move makes trade unionism stronger.”
The Maritime Union of New Zealand hosted the meeting. MUNZ national secretary Joe Fleetwood said the international and global nature of the maritime industry required an international approach by unions.
“In the globalised economy, unions must operate globally to ensure we are not isolated by national borders while corporate interests dominate international supply chains,” Mr Fleetwood said.
“The Regional Maritime Federation has the potential to build start a dialogue with other maritime and transport unions in our region.”
The Auckland meeting follows an inaugural meeting in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, in November 2013.
MTWU national secretary Reg McAlister said that there were potentially tens of thousands of workers who could be unionised in PNG, across the burgeoning oil and gas and fisheries sectors.
“In PNG, trade unionism is very much in its infancy. Working together is what unions are all about and international solidarity can only benefit developing nations like ours,” Mr McAlister said.
Source: Press Release
FROM FISH UPDATE:
***ITF president gets involved in NZ fisheries dispute
Published:  31 March, 2014

Paddy Crumlin


INTERNATIONAL Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) president Paddy Crumlin has met with key stakeholders in Auckland, New Zealand, about the ongoing campaign to secure NZD30 million in unpaid wages for fishers in the region.
The ITF has contributed to Slave Free Seas’ campaign to claim outstanding wages in the vicinity of NZD30 million through the New Zealand courts.
Mr Crumlin met with senior union representatives from Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, the Slave Free Seas advocacy group and the Merchant Service Guild as part of the Regional Maritime Federation meeting.
The Regional Maritime Federation brings together maritime unions from Australia, New Zealand and PNG to try to build trade union capacity in the region.
Mr Crumlin, who is also Maritime Union of Australia national secretary, said it was imperative that fisheries workers get better wages and conditions in an industry in which 24,000 people die across the world each year.
‘Slave Free Seas acts on behalf of fishers where they have no representation and legal redress,’ said Crumlin.
‘We commend the initiative of Slave Free Seas as we try to break apart the industrial model upon which commercial fishing is built because it is akin to modern day slavery,’ he added.
Maritime Union of New Zealand National Secretary Joe Fleetwood said the New Zealand Parliament needed to pass its fishing slavery laws as a matter of urgency.
‘The bill has now been pushed number 27 on the parliamentary bills list, placing it in real danger of not being addressed before the upcoming national election,’ Mr Fleetwood said.
‘This is outrageous. The New Zealand Government is missing in action when it comes to protecting the rights and welfare of fishers in our region.’
It is almost two years since the government concluded a ministerial Inquiry into the use of foreign charter vessels after national and international accusations of slave labour in New Zealand waters.
The legislation to implement the recommendations, including a requirement that all vessels be New Zealand flagged by 2016, is yet to be passed.
New Zealand’s use of cheap labour on fishing boats was scathingly labelled ‘21st Century slavery’ in a US State Department report released in mid-2012.
It cited conditions of forced labour, including debt bondage, imposition of significant debts, physical violence, mental abuse and excessive hours of work aboard vessels in New Zealand waters.
The issue was mentioned more recently in the Global Slavery Index and will continue to be an embarrassing topic of discussion until the Government gets its act together and passes the necessary law.
Slave Free Seas is a team of the world’s foremost experts on modern slavery, including international lawyers specialising in human rights and maritime law, world-leading academics, and advocates from the private sector.
While still involved with the legislative changes in the New Zealand fishing industry, the group’s focus is on the development of a global legal toolbox to effectively end labour exploitation and abuse wherever it occurs in the fishing industry across the globe.