THE INTERNATIONAL Transport Workers Federation (ITF) has held its 46th Congress in Marrakech, Morocco this month, marking the first time the global congress was held in the Arab World region.
The conference saw Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) national secretary Paddy Crumlin re-elected as ITF President and chair of the Dockers Section, roles he has held for over 14 years.
In further leadership movements, Stephen Cotton was re-elected ITF general secretary and Dave Heindel, president of the Seafarers International Union of North America, was reelected chair of the Seafarers Section, which he has served as since 2010.
The MUA said the continuity of leadership at the ITF ensures that experience, consistency, and long term strategic planning will continue to define the campaigns and organizational efforts of the global transport workers’ union.
Delegates to congress pushed a series of critical motions addressing equality, sustainability, and workers’ rights, and each motion reinforced the global labour movement’s commitment to fighting for justice and fairness across the transport sector, the MUA affirmed.
In maritime specific developments, the ‘Marrakech Policy’ was adopted at the ITF Joint Seafarers’ and Dockers’ Conference, and now forms the governing framework for the global union’s campaigning work on Flags of Convenience.
The MUA reported the policy is the culmination of five years’ work by union representatives from ITF maritime affiliates to examine, plan, and develop a new strategy in line with the shifting reality faced by seafarers since 2010, when the preceding Mexico City Policy was adopted at the ITF’s 42nd Congress in Mexico City.
The Marrakech Policy sets out the minimum conditions the ITF and its affiliated unions will accept on FOC merchant ships, incorporating the new understanding of the critical importance of global supply chains that emerged out of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the central role for shipping and seafarers in combatting climate.
The policy will now form the baseline for the ITF’s Collective Bargaining Agreements, which set the wages and working conditions for crews on FOC vessels, irrespective of nationality.
“For dockers, the inclusion of the Non-Seafarers’ Work Clause in the CBAs isn’t just about job security, it’s about safety – both for dockers and for seafarers,” Mr Crumlin said.
“Companies are trying to cut corners, making seafarers do lashing, putting them at serious risk. We’ve fought against this before, and we’ll continue to fight against any shipowner who puts seafarers’ lives in danger.
“The attacks on our rights aren’t going away, but neither are we. We’re dockers. We’re seafarers. We move the world, and it’s time companies recognise that they can’t exploit us without consequences.”
The conference also saw the ongoing conflict in Palestine addressed with a call for peace and solidarity.
ITF president Paddy Crumlin underscored the federation’s long-standing commitment to peace, commenting “We have a long history of committing to justice, to a two-state solution, and to the establishment of a sovereign state of Palestine”.
