***Panama in MLC controversery over
cadet exclusion
The measure has caught the attention of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) which considers that it is unfair and may discourage cadets from joining the seafarer profession. The ITF said that it has received complaints from unions that challenge Panama’s interpretation.
In Panama’s Merchant Marine Notice 265, the Ship Registry defines a cadet as “an aspiring merchant marine officer, whose training programme includes the improvement of academic and professional skills, as well as the formation of attitudes and behaviours under the observance and strict compliance of rules and regulations and existing orders”. The other forms of employment not considered as a “seafarer” by Panama include superintendents, researchers, technical staff working on offshore drilling platforms and specialist offshore technicians whose work is not part of the routine operation of the ship.
Panama is the world’s largest register with over 400,000 seafarers on board of Panamanian-flagged vessels. It was also one of the first nations to ratify MLC 2006 and its support has been important in the ratification of the convention that entered force on 20 August, this year.
“We hold consultations with Panama’s Tripartite Commission –government, private sector (ship owners) and labour representatives- during the implementation process [of MLC 2006],” said Alfonso Castillero, the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) director of merchant marine and head of the Panama Register. “Panama decided that what is not explicit [in MLC 2006] had to be taken to the Tripartite Commission and that was the interpretation given by Panama’s Tripartite Commission,” he explained.
Shipping sources told Seatrade Global that shipowners from Japan, Korea and Greece which constitute nearly three quarters of Panama’s fleet were reluctant to see cadets included in the seafarers.
Although Panama is not the only flag to exclude cadets from the seafarers, there are differences in the interpretation of MLC 2006.
“We are going to begin conversations to listen to the ITF’s points of view,” said Castillero. “The best would be that the ILO discusses the issue in its plenum, and we will comply with the ILO decision about the issue” he added.
***The struggle for container weights safety continues
Following a decision by the IMO (International Maritime Organization) sub-committee to accept an alternative mode of verification to the mandatory weighing of packed shipping containers, the ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) has pledged to continue its struggle for container weight safety.
The ITF has described it as a missed opportunity to reduce the risk of harm to transport workers and members of the public.
The proposed amendment to the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) by the ITF received its final consideration by the IMO sub-committee on dangerous goods, solid cargoes and containers this week. The sub-committee has opted for a compromise solution, which allows governments to either choose the gold standard of mandatory weighing or the lesser measure of certifying shipping containers based on an unformulated process of verifying the weight by adding together the different constituent parts of a container load at unspecified times and places along the transport route.
Explaining the flaws in IMO’s decision, ITF president and dockers’ section chair Paddy Crumlin said that the proposed amendment was the ideal opportunity to finally bring in a system, which would lessen the risk that unweighed and misdeclared containers pose to dockers, seafarers, truck drivers, the general public and the environment. However, the compromise position opens up the question of accountability in different countries.
He said that the ITF will continue its campaign to get decent universal weighing accepted as the norm, and will seek transparency and clarity from the governments that fail to take up the safer method on how they plan to make certification work.
He adds that the ITF and its affiliates feel passionately about this issue, as do the national governments and industry bodies that supported the amendment. The organisation will increase their campaigning efforts and plan further lobbying, awareness initiatives and affiliate action in locations worldwide.