SHIPPING LETTERS

RMTnews :: december 2006 :: www.rmt.org.uk 14 Battling flags of convenience Dear editor, A “Flag of Convenience” is defined as the flag of any country allowing the registration of foreign-owned and foreign-controlled vessels under conditions which are convenient and opportune for the persons who are registering the vessel. Modern shipping now offers their services to everywhere in the world, regardless of the ship registration and the ship-owner base of business, which has created fierce competition in the industry. Seafarers who are working on flag of convenience ships are often denied basic human and trade union rights. The nature of the seafarer’s employment and the way their contracts are administered also makes it difficult to deal with seafarer’s complaints. The home country of a seafarer can do little to safeguard the seafarers’ rights on such ships as they are not obliged to observe their national legislation, but to comply with the rules and regulations of the state whose flag they are entitled to fly. Most FoC seafarers are not members of a union and if some of them are, they are powerless to fight for their rights. A report published by the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) characterised open registry as having very poor wages, poor onboard conditions, inadequate food and clean drinking water and long periods of work without proper rest, leading to stress and fatigue. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and other trade union federations take all possible measures to reduce and eliminate such violations but they are long way away from achieving their goals. Shipping needs global policing, which needs high manpower with plenty resources and some power for strict penalties to be imposed. Recently, I carried out a research on seafarers’ welfare on board merchant ships which revealed that some national flag ships are as bad as the flag of convenience ships or even worse, driving some even to attempted suicide. The findings also gave the impression that human rights come second in the maritime industry. However, the good news for seafarers are that the new ILO Convention, which took almost six years to consolidate and could take another three to four years to come into force, could considerably improve the conditions of seafarer on board merchant ships. Asad Ulah P&O strikers end campaign Dear editor, After lengthy discussions with our members it has sadly been decided that the ‘Ex-P&O strikers 88/89’ campaign for justice must be brought to a close. The campaign has been fought with conviction that the case was right. Our members stood shoulder-to-shoulder with total solidarity since the start of the strike in 1988. They must be saluted and admired for their convictions and our thanks must go to them. For the rest of their lives they will know they were right and have been badly let down. Yet, after all they have been through they will never be forgotten. During this momentous campaign, the ex-seafarers gained support from the Labour Party conference, RMT, the European parliament and an early day motion put down by Gwynn Prosser MP secured the support of 102 MPs. During the strike, John Prescott was an NUS-sponsored MP and he urged the strikers to keep up the struggle and that they had the backing of the entire labour movement and would not be forgotten. Yet, for 16 years we have invited him to attend our memorial rally in memory of the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster and he has never replied to our requests and his secretary always said he was “too busy”. This is the man who stands up at Labour Party conference and says “I used to be a steward on-board ship, I’m proud of it and I will never forget my roots”. He has declined to meet our delegation for even 15 minutes. He has certainly forgotten the seafarers that he urged to carry on the struggle in 1988. We feel disgusted and betrayed and wonder what Mr Prescott’s roots ever were. At last we now know why he was “too busy”. The flame will burn in our hearts and we will never forget how our members were treated. Thank you to all our many comrades for the way in which you have supported us. Perhaps our 18 years of struggle will be recorded and someone’s conscience will be disturbed. Steve Stevenson Secretary CROSSING THE LINE: A Dover picket during the 1988 P&O dispute. Pauline Howe, the chair of RMT’s Women’s Advisory Committee and leading shipping sector activist, has died after a long battle with cancer. “Pauline was a fearless and tireless RMT activist who gave her all for the trade-union movement, right to the end,” general secretary Bob Crow said. He said that although diagnosed with cancer many months ago, she continued to organise as usual for Dover branch, chairing women’s committee meetings with her usual humour and playing a full role in the recent maritime grades’ conference. “Pauline was not a woman to be messed around, particularly by an employer, and she could more than hold her own in a male-dominated industry. “She was a massive asset to the union, and to say that she will be missed is an understatement,” Bob said. RMT ACTIVIST PAULINE HOWE PASSES AWAY