Victory for seafarers’ safety as Dutch court sides with unions on container lashing
Unions have secured an important victory in the campaign for seafarers’ safety this week as a Dutch court has ruled that ship managers, ship owners and charterers must honour a clause that prevents seafarers from being assigned dangerous lashing work where professional dock workers are available.
Unions to continue lashing battle to achieve compliance with non-seafarers’ work clause
Court of Rotterdam issued a decision today to dismiss the unions’ preliminary request to prohibit the lashing by seafarers immediately in advance of the results of main proceedings. Despite this decision, unions believe that the agreement is clear that this cargo handling work must be undertaken by trained, experienced dockers when they are present.
The future of European Shipping needs to be social!
Last week, European Shipping Week 2020 was held in Brussels, organised by the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA). This year, the ETF Maritime Transport section took part in a variety of ways, with trade union representatives from nine different countries attending and contributing to the programme.
Return lashing to shore-based dock workers!
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) today call upon ship operators to return lashing to shore based dock workers.
Dockers explain: Why is the Dockers’ Clause important?
On 1 January 2020, the Dockers’ Clause came into effect, confirming that lashing is dockers’ work.
To better understand the importance of this new clause and its consequences, we spoke to dockers around Europe. We asked them about their work, the current situation in their countries and what the new arrangement means for them.
Dockers’ Clause: A deal is a deal – and we are defending it!
On 8 January, dockers, shop stewards, trade unions and legal advisors from ten different countries gathered in Rotterdam and pledged to take action to ensure that the new Dockers’ Clause is correctly implemented. The attendees of the gathering formed an international team of legal advisors to prepare for action against shipping companies that do not comply with the Dockers’ Clause.
Lash do it! – Dockers Clause comes info effect on 1 January 2020
On 1 January, a ‘Dockers Clause’ of the IBF framework agreement comes into effect. As a consequence, dockers will (again) be doing the lashing for the ships covered by the IBF Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Baltic Week of Action with lashing in the spotlight
On the eve of the entry into full effectiveness of the new IBF Dockers’ Clause our German affiliate ver.di is dedicating its Baltic Week of Action 2019 to lashing.
Global solidarity for port strikes in Italy
Dockers everywhere deserve safe conditions, decent wages and a voice in automation! That’s exactly what Italian unions were bargaining for, but now national negotiations have broken down. Our Italian affiliates FILT-CGIL, FIT-CISL and UILTRASPORTI have therefore decided to call a 24-hour national port strike.
European Dockers stand together in the fight for Fair Transport!
ETF affiliates representing dockers have held simultaneous actions in three countries as part of the Fair Transport Europe action week. Today saw actions for fair pensions in Rotterdam, on lashing in Hamburg and Bremerhaven, and in support of drivers’ rights and tighter road inspections in Antwerp.