Global daily news 26.03.2014 – Дальневосточная Ассоциация Морских Капитанов

***Hundreds line the streets for Bob Crow’s funeral procession

Hundreds of people lined the streets to pay their respects at the funeral of trade union leader Bob Crow today.

Friends and union members gather outside the City of London Cemetery and Crematorium to pay tribute to RMT General Secretary Bob Crow,

The ceremony was private at the request of his family but a horse-drawn carriage carried his coffin from his home in Woodford Green to the City of London Cemetery and Crematorium in an hour-long procession.

Trade unionists and supporters from around the world clapped as it passed, with some throwing roses and singing socialist songs.

Dozens of brightly-decorated banners marked out divisions of different unions from around the UK and beyond.

Railway workers and members of Mr Crow’s Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) made up swathes of the crowd.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow’s funeral procession arrive at the City of London Cemetery and Crematorium

Elroy Duce, who works on the First Great Western trains from London to Cornwall and Wales, said Mr Crow was irreplaceable.

“He had the heart of the people and he believed in justice for the workers,” he said.

“Replacing him will be impossible – you won’t get anyone of his calibre.”

Alfonso Bahena, from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, said Mr Crow’s legacy went far beyond Britain.

He added: “He spoke at our congress in Mexico City in 2010 – he was one of the most important people.

“He made a lot of policy for the railway workers in Brazil and south America.”

Mr Bahena was representing the International Transport Workers’ Federation.

Many groups beyond transport turned up to pay their respects to Mr Crow and show solidarity.

The Durham Miners, National Pensioners Convention and Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament were among those seen.

Mr Crow died aged 52 after a suspected heart attack on March 11.

He was born in Shadwell but moved to Hainault with his family as an infant and attended Kingswood Upper School, which later became The Forest Academy.

He became involved in union politics while based in Loughton working for London Transport.

As the leader of the RMT, he headed many strikes including the recent walk-out on the London Underground.

His stance frequently provoked controversy and drew sharp criticism from politicians and many inconvenienced commuters.

“People called him the most hated man in Britain,” said one woman waiting for the procession.

“But today it looks like he was the most loved.”

FROM PORT NEWS (RUSSIA):

***North-Western Shipping Company says ITF launches campaign against vessels flying Russian flag

North-Western Shipping Company OJSC notes persistent acts of the representatives of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) against the company’s vessels, the shipping company says in its statement.

According to the statement, ITF actions are based on consistently “new” accusations of the company saying that it is in breach of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions. The latest incident took place in the port of Ghent (Belgium) with the crew of M/V Lazurit (flag of Russia) on March 17, 2014.

As North-Western Shipping Company operating the vessels flying the flags of the Russian Federation, it is obliged to comply with all the statutes of the Russian law of employment, work safety and labour conditions. These statutes are tougher as compared with those applied to the flag of convenience ships.

Each vessel flying the flag of the Russian Federation and operated by the North-Western Shipping Company is certified under the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006. The minimum monthly basic wages for able seafarers of the Company have always been and continue to be in compliance with ILO Recommendation 187 with regard to the wages amount and payment conditions as defined on an annual basis by the Joint Maritime Commission, and as of January 1, 2014 are at least equal to $585.

The obligation to determine such level of the Minimum Monthly Basic Wages is binding in accordance with the 2006 Maritime Labor Convention, which has been effective for Russia since August 20, 2013, and compliance with such obligation is ensured by the Company’s adherence to the River Transport Industry Agreement for 2012-2014 incorporating the requirements of the above Convention. The shipowner as a socially responsible company fully complies with the ILO Convention, including its requirements regarding the provision of information to confirm that the wages are being paid.

Currently, the interests of the North-Western Shipping Company’s seamen are represented by the Water Transport Trade Union of the Russian Federation (WTTU) in accordance with the existing collective bargaining agreement. The WTTU is not an associated member of ITF. There are no members of ITF/FSU among the seamen employed by the Company. Therefore, contrary to what is alleged by ITF/FSU, they do not have any power to check compliance with ILO requirements in the territory of Finland, and their allegations regarding the minimum wages of the Company’s seamen are unfounded and inaccurate.

The statement says that the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and affiliated Seafarers’ Union of Russia should realize that claims about the North-Western Shipping Company’s employment terms are actually an assault on the Russian legislation.

The North-Western Shipping Company intends to protect its reputation and the right of its employees to safe labour by all means necessary as permitted by the Russian and international laws.

The North-Western Shipping Company believes that all administrative, civil and criminal liability for the illegal actions referred to above lies with ITF/FSU and, in particular, their representatives whose unlawful acts will in any way directly or indirectly prejudicial to the rights and lawful interests of the crews, vessels, cargo, the Company or the Shipowners, the statement says.

North-Western Shipping Company is the largest carrier in Russia’s water transport system, specializing in shipping import / export general cargo, bulk and loose dry cargo, tugging of oversized cargo and vessels.

The company operates 80 cargo ships with deadweight ranging between 1,700 t and 7,000 t and two ro-ro barges of mixed river-sea type. Total deadweight of the company is 363,000 t, average age – 15 years. The NWS Company transports 6 million tonnes of different cargo a year.

The Company is a member of VBTH, a shipping division of UCL Holding (majority owner of VBTH), consolidating also a number of Russian rail, stevedoring and logistics assets.

Related link:

North-Western Shipping Company comments on delay of loading in Finland>>>>

North-Western Shipping Company comments on delay of loading in Finland

North-Western Shipping Company (NWSC OJSC) has published explanations concerning distorted information published by certain media about the delay of loading NWSC vessels in Finland.

The information relates to the events of March 10, 2014 when loading/unloading operations at NWSC vessel were illegally terminated at the port of Pori (Finland) by the representatives of the Finnish Seamen’s Union (FSU), a member of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITWF).

NWSC was unfoundedly accused by FSU representatives of noncompliance with ILO requirements to guarantee the minimum monthly basic wage for seafarers at $585. FSU representatives also demanded that NWSC sign a new collective arrangement with ITF and threatened with termination of the loading in case the demand is not fulfilled, which actually happened.

Following the incident, NWSC went to the local court of Finland which acknowledged FSU actions as illegal (decision as of March 11, 2014) and ordered to resume the loading operations.

In this context, North-Western Shipping Company OJSC states that present interests of NWSC seamen are represented by the Water Transport Trade Union of the Russian Federation in compliance with the collective labour agreement. The Union is not an associated member of ITF. NWSC seamen are not in the lists of ITF/FSU. Therefore, ITF/FSU is not authorized to carry out inspection of compliance with ILO requirements in the territory of Finland while the information about NWSC seamen’s minimum wages is unfounded and inaccurate. Each vessel flying the flag of the Russian Federation and operated by NWSC is certified under Maritime Labor Convention, 2006. Minimum monthly basic wage for able seafarers of NWSC is $585.

North-Western Shipping Company considers ITF/FSU actions as a willful attempt to cause economic and reputational damage to the company.

FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA:

***25 years after Exxon Valdez: Raising the flag for tanker safety

March 21, 2014

Flag use behaviour is one area where stronger controls could lower the risk of a spill like the Exxon Valdez. Photo: US Navy.

Twenty-five years ago on this day, a supertanker carrying over 200 million litres of crude oil ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, resulting in one of the most publicized environmental tragedies in history. Within five hours of the incident, over 40 million litres of oil had spilled from the ruptured vessel, the Exxon Valdez, ultimately polluting nearly 2,000 km of coastline.

In the weeks and months following the spill, numerous contributing factors were identified. While human error was believed to have played a major role in the accident, inadequate response capabilities and the vessel’s single hulled design also contributed to the magnitude of the spill.

The event was a critical, albeit retrospective turning point for tanker safety in the United States and around the world. Following the catastrophe, U.S. Congress introduced the Oil Pollution Act; legislation which required better contingency plans and safer ship design. In 1992, the international community followed suit, improving safety standards for the global tanker fleet by making double hulled design mandatory for all large tankers. Ironically, in 1973 when the pipeline from Northern Alaska to Valdez was first approved, the oil industry and the U.S. government promised to make safety a priority, supporting some of these tighter safety requirements that failed to materialise until after the Exxon Valdez incident.

In Canada, we are faced with serious and growing risks of a tanker spill. In a report released recently by Transport Canada, the southern coast of British Columbia topped a nation-wide list of places with the highest risk of a large oil spill. US president Barack Obama has already signalled his concern about impacts to U.S. waters and ordered the U.S. Coast Guard to conduct its own risk assessment.

With two proposed pipelines on the table in BC, leading to a projected six-fold increase in tanker traffic in southern BC alone, the public is looking to the provincial and federal governments to reduce the risk of a spill. Global standards for tanker safety put in place after the Exxon Valdez disaster offer a starting point for spill prevention; we need to go beyond minimum requirements to protect our coastlines.

As we found during our research at the University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre, published last month in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin, flag use behaviour is one area where stronger controls could lower the risk of a spill. Under international maritime law, vessels fly the flag of the State to which they are registered. This requirement is intended to assure that regardless of where they operate, every vessel is held accountable to laws and regulations regarding conduct at sea in areas such as human rights, safety, and environmental performance.

But vessel owners are not required to register their vessels under the flag of the country that they are from or even demonstrate any kind of affiliation with their flag State. ‘Flags of Convenience’ (FoCs) offer an unusual loophole to vessel owners that have drawn international criticism since as far back as the 1950s for their role in labour abuses. More recently, they have also been implicated in illegal fishing activities, arms trade and terrorism and tanker spills. And while concern about FoCs in some sectors is growing, so is their use: of all new ocean-going vessels registered in 2011, 83 per cent used foreign flags.

There are many reasons why a vessel owner would choose to register their tanker with a country other than their own: cheaper registration fees, low or no taxes and freedom to employ cheap labour are a few of the motivating factors. Countries such as Liberia, Panama and the Bahamas offer havens to vessel owners seeking to minimize costs and skirt requirements enforced by other countries. Bizarrely, even some landlocked countries, like Mongolia (which has 29 registered tankers), issue flags to foreign vessels operating in international waters.

For over half a century, the International Transport Worker’s Federation (ITF) has been campaigning against the use of FoCs. Taking into consideration the degree of foreign flag registration as well as the ability and willingness of flag States to enforce minimum social, safety and environmental standards, the ITF has identified 34 ‘FoC Countries’ that they view to be particularly concerning. In the fall-out from the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, the Marshall Islands (a country included on this list) was implicated in the failure to oversee safety standards on the oil rig. Owned by Transocean and operated under lease to petroleum producer BP, the rig was registered to the tiny group of islands inhabited by only 65,000 people. The explosion and oil spill that resulted, in part, due to the failure in oversight caused $8.7 billion in losses to fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico alone.

The news is not all bad: lessons have been learned from past catastrophes such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Both the number of oil spills caused by tankers and the total volume of oil spilled worldwide has fallen over the past 50 years. International agreements and organizations have played a major role in bringing these numbers down.

If federal and provincial governments are serious about ensuring “world-class” oil spill prevention is in place to avoid catastrophic losses to the BC economy resulting from a spill, tanker owners must be pressured to register their vessels under flag States that demonstrate high standards of safety and pollution avoidance.

Ngaio Hotte is a Fisheries Economist at the University of British Columbia’s Fisheries Centre. Dr. Dana Miller is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Fisheries Centre. Dr. Rashid Sumaila is the Director of the Fisheries Economics Research Unit at the Fisheries Centre.

FROM INDIAN RAIL WORKER:

***ITF Worldwide Women Transport Worker Conference

TO SEE THIS ARTICLE VISIT http://issuu.com/nfirindiadelhi/docs/march_2014/17

Court battle looms over wages

MICHAEL FIELD

Last updated 05:00 23/03/2014

Around 300 Indonesian crew from South Korean fishing boats that operated in New Zealand waters are heading to the employment authority claiming $17 million in unpaid wages.

Two hundred are from foreign charter vessels (FCVs) hired by Auckland’s Sanford Ltd, controlled by the family of National Party president Peter Goodfellow.

It comes as officials from South Korea’s largest fishing company, Sajo Oyang, face criminal charges of fraud and forgery related to operations in New Zealand.

It’s the latest step in the battle to end labour and human rights abuses aboard the FCVs working New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone.

Paperwork filed with Employment Relations Authority (ERA) claimed Dong Won Fishing Co short-changed crews on the Sanford-chartered Dong Won 519, 530 and 701 and Juham Industries vessel Pacinui.

The 200 crew allege they were paid as little as $600 per month, worked in poor conditions, sometimes in excess of 20-hour stretches, and were subject to verbal and physical abuse on the vessels. They are claiming $10m.

Another 100 men from Sureste 700, 709 and 701, chartered by Timaru’s South East Resources (201) Ltd, want $7m.

Crews have filed affidavits claiming short payments and mistreatment including being denied medical treatment. “I . . . have experienced violence,” reads on crew member’s affidavit. “One time it was my turn to roll the things with a small wire and it was a bit loose and it was not tight enough, I straight away get scolded and cursed and kicked around my thigh section really hard until I fell to the ground.”

One crewman describes how beautiful he found New Zealand and the contrast with the ships he worked.

“All crew and I didn’t give a time to sleep until two days, although we were very tired and sleepy but the bosun keep asking to work until all fish have been packed,” he said. “When I was working [to] cut the fish my finger sliced by fish cutting machine because of tired factor and sleepy. I almost lost my finger.”

Some claim they have been made to sign blank pieces of paper acknowledging receipt of money.

“I also been asked to signed payment sheet about NZ$20,000-$40,000 but I actually didn’t receive those money.”

In its last annual report in December Sanford said FCVs had a very good year with strong catches.

A bill requiring FCVs to reflag by 2016 is languishing at item 27 on the Parliamentary Order Paper and is unlikely to pass before the elections in September.

International allegations around Sajo Oyang, Korea’s biggest fisher, have resulted in the US State Department placing Seoul on a human trafficking annual watchlist report. Human rights sources say this is why company officials will appear in a Korean court on Wednesday facing charges over its actions in New Zealand.

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The charges revolve around the use of Oyang 75 which was brought into New Zealand to replace the Oyang 70, which sank in 2010 off Otago with the loss of six men. After being convicted of environmental offences, Oyang 75’s officers were fined more than $420,000. The ship is subject to a forfeiture order yet to be argued before court.

The Korean Coast Guard has laid charges of fraud against the company chief executive, Gapsuk Lee, and other company officials, alleging they drew up fake foreign currency transfer receipts to show the Indonesian crew had been paid, when they had not.