Ferry CEO Peter Hebblethwaite pulls wool over MPs’ eyes by claiming to pay more than double an internationally agreed seafarer wage  Disgraced P&O boss Peter Hebblethwaite appeared for another grilling in Parliament last week, before MPs on the Business and Trade Select Committee. The P&O Ferries boss, who appeared before Parliament in 2022 after his company sacked 786 staff and replaced them with low-paid agency staff from the global south, this week finally admitted to paying P&O Ferries’ seafarers an amount he told MPs he couldn’t live on, less than £5 an hour – while ..read more

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) welcomes the Australian Government’s budget announcement of funding for an Australian Strategic Fleet in the Albanese Government’s third budget.  The Australian Strategic Fleet was a key election commitment during the 2022 Australian Federal Election and underscores the importance of shipping and freight for a major island economy such as Australia’s.  $21.7 million over five years will be invested from 2024–25 to support the establishment of a Strategic Fleet, which will be established through an initial pilot program with three ..read more

Rallying of trade union support from Belgium, Australia and the USA crucial to new terms on ship working to install wind turbines with world’s largest offshore wind developer, Ørsted Action by dockers in Esbjerg, Denmark, has won a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) guaranteeing better pay and conditions for seafarers installing offshore wind for Germany. The dockers from Danish union and ITF affiliate, 3F, began their action on Friday, 19 April, after subsea engineering company, Seaway 7, refused to sign a CBA on its offshore vessel, Seaway Ventus. The Seaway Ventus is chartered t ..read more

As one company steps up to do the right thing in the Netherlands, another CEO faces charges for the 2020 death of a New Zealand stevedore Fatigue is a seafarer’s constant reality. Imagine arriving in port after days on end of 10-16-hour shifts, facing harsh weather and frequent stops at ports taking away your chance to rest, not to mention the emotional and mental challenges of working in a risky environment for little pay, often thousands of miles away from beloved friends and family.  Then imagine being asked to take on a complex, dangerous job you have no training for: the lashing and ..read more

Unions slam shipping giants for sustaining regime, including Maersk’s hollow claim of performing ‘heightened human rights due diligence’ Global shipping giants are putting commercial interests above human rights concerns by continuing to ship from Myanmar, say trade unionists from Myanmar and global union federations IndustriALL and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).  The companies, Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A (MSC) and CMA CGM – all of which have annual revenues in the tens of billions in USD – are playing a key role in sustaining the ruling military ju ..read more

Comment article by Seth Payer, Head of Data and Research at the International Transport Workers' Federation The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has a unique and powerful influence on the wages and conditions of seafarers working on Flag of Convenience ships, through negotiating ITF agreements with shipowners. ITF’s Inspectorate – made up of 133 Inspectors covering more than 120 ports across 59 countries – police and enforce these agreements. They can legally board a vessel with an ITF agreement to carry out an inspection to check that the terms and conditions of the agreement ..read more

Two years ago, trade unionists across the globe reacted in outrage as P&O Ferries illegally sacked 786 UK seafarers, a move that UK unions RMT and Nautilus labelled a ‘national scandal’. These workers have yet to receive the justice they deserve, and the threat of another P&O Ferries-style jobs massacre looms large due to government inaction. Using ‘fire and rehire’, P&O Ferries replaced the sacked workers with agency staff paid less than UK minimum wage (according to the Guardian in some cases as little as £4.87 an hour) demonstrating a blatant disregard for workers ..read more

The International Bargaining Forum’s (IBF) Warlike Operations Area Committee (WOAC) has unanimously agreed to designate the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden ‘Warlike’ to emphasise the seriousness of the situation. This decision taken at a meeting on 12 March 2024 follows the Houthi attack on M/V True Confidence which resulted in the death of three seafarers. Our first priority is the safety of seafarers. Ships transiting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are Houthi missile targets, putting seafarers’ lives in grave danger. We strongly urge charterers, operators and shipowners to avoid passage through the a ..read more

28 February 2024, London  Seafarers are struggling to survive after being abandoned by a Saudi Arabian company across multiple vessels – registered in Bahrain.  The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has received many concerning reports about withheld pay from individual seafarers working on eight ships owned by Hadi H Al Hamman Establishment.   The company, which lists Saudi Aramco among its customers and was buying brand new ships as recently as 2018, has not paid seafarers for more than five months in some cases. One seafarer reported dangerously low level ..read more

Joint statement by the International Transport Workers' Federation and the Joint Negotiating Group The International Bargaining Forum (IBF) social partners are increasingly concerned about the actions taken by Houthi forces that are threatening the safety of transiting seafarers and vessels. Following continued incidents in the Southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, the IBF Warlike Operations Area Committee (WOAC) convened on 7 February 2024 and agreed additional measures to support seafarers’ safety and welfare. Since the previous joint statement, sadly the conflict in the region has escalate ..read more