Employers, unions back fair treatment for seafarers in accidents

Employers, unions back fair treatment for seafarers in accidents Three organizations representing maritime employers and unions have joined forces to protect seafarers involved in accidents.
   The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), the International Shipping Federation (ISF) and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) on Friday launched a campaign in London to promote the Guidelines on the Fair Treatment of Seafarers in the Event of a Maritime Accident, which was adopted by the International Maritime Organization and International Labor Organization in 2006.
   “As responsible employers, we believe it is very important that the IMO/ILO Guidelines, which represent the internationally accepted minimum standard for the fair treatment of seafarers by investigating authorities, are indeed implemented in practice by governments,” said Tony Mason, secretary general of the ICS and ISF, two London-based shipowners associations. “Seafarers must be treated with dignity and respect, and given access to independent legal representation in situations where they may be interviewed or held following an accident at sea.”
   ITF General Secretary David Cockroft, said: “The knee-jerk scapegoating of seafarers following accidents at sea is a growing concern to us all. In recent years the response of too many national authorities has been to reach for the handcuffs first and find out what actually happened last.”
   As part of the campaign, the organizations have created a Seafarers ' Be Aware! poster designed to raise awareness of the IMO/ILO Guidelines among seafarers. The poster can be downloaded from either www.marisec.org/fairtreatment or www.itfglobal.org/fairtreatment, where the IMO/ILO Guidelines also appear in full.