52 SUOMEN MERENKULKU ■ FINLANDS SJÖFART THE GLOBAL SEAFARER ” Some FoC registers are better than others, but the very existence of the system creates a lack of transparency and accountability that lowers standards and harms seafarers." The top three ship registries in the world by tonnage are flags of convenience: (top to bottom) Liberia, Panama and the Marshall Islands. CREDIT: PIXABAY/PEXELS employers and crewing agencies to secure minimum standards and conditions for larger groups of seafarers. ITF-approved collective agreements set the wages and working conditions for all crew on FoC vessels, irrespective of nationality. All vessels covered by an ITF-approved agreement get a certificate which signifies the agreed wages and working conditions onboard. In addition, the ITF’s Mexico City policy commits affiliated unions to provide all seafarers with proper union representation and protection. They work together to provide collective agreement coverage for all seafarers, irrespective of their nationality or country of origin. The global network of ITF inspectors also helps to improve the lot of crew members on FoC vessels, who are more vulnerable than the average seafarer to being abandoned without pay. THE ULTIMATE GOAL There’s no doubt that these measures improve the pay and conditions of seafarers on FoC vessels, yet the ITF has never lost sight of the goal of driving vessels to bona fide national flags. The Federation’s anti-FoC campaign has been going for over 75 years, but the desire to win this battle burns as brightly as ever in the hearts of trade unionists. ‘Together with our colleagues at the ITF, we are campaigning at a national and international level to restore the link between a vessel’s country of ownership and the flag it flies,’ Nautilus Federation coordinator relations Danny McGowan says. ‘To achieve this aim, we are in regular talks with policy-making bodies such as the International Maritime Organization and International Labour Organization. We seek to look not only at UNCLOS but also at other conventions that would help us to achieve our aims for the benefit of all maritime professionals.’
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