Indian Unions to launch second FOC Week of Action of this year
Riding on the success of the first staggered Week of Action, Dockers and Seafarers affiliated unions in India and Sri Lanka will observe another Week of Action from 10-14 December. Ports involved this week will include Chennai, Kochi, Paradip, Kolkata, Haldia and Colombo. Unions will also inspect vessels at the private terminals in these ports owned by multinational companies like Maersk, PSA and DPW. Inspectors/contacts and union activists will be targeting merchant vessels which are without ITF acceptable agreements that stipulate decent and negotiated wages and ship board conditions for crew members.
Earlier in October during the first staggered Week of Action, dockers and seafarers unions had inspected 43 ships and 13 ITF acceptable agreements were signed by Inspectors and Unions in countries of beneficial ownership as a result of action taken in Indian ports.
Over recent years ITF affiliated dockers’ and seafarers’ unions in India and its Inspectorate have subjected flag of convenience ships visiting their ports to strict inspections, signed agreements, secured back wages for hundreds of seafarers and helped win court claims for crews cheated and/or abandoned by ship owners.