Nautilus head of international relations Danny McGowan explains a new, international campaign from the ITF to crack down on a so-called 'sham union' that it says is undermining the rights of seafarers
The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) has launched a new website, isu.exposed, to highlight a so-called 'sham union' operating to undermine the ITF's activities.
The International Seafarers' Union (ISU) is registered as a trade union in Slovenia, but ITF investigations show that the agreements signed by ISU are substandard, giving companies that wish to avoid genuine trade union relationships a chance to legitimise their operations.
In addition to this, the ITF's report also shows that the people who are behind ISU also run a private company, Lanibra. Lanibra acts as an agent for shipowners, openly offering its services 'to sideline genuine trade unions'.
The ITF is asking any seafarers who work onboard a vessel with an ISU-Lanibra agreement to contact them, providing information and guidance to help the ITF deal with the issues caused by ISU-Lanibra.
Both international law and the law of Slovenia, where ISU is registered, forbid 'interference' by employers in a union. But Lanibra – acting openly as an agent for shipowners – directly violates this.
The ISU and P&O Ferries
Two years after the P&O Ferries scandal, in which the company dismissed 786 seafarers without notice or consultation, the Guardian revealed that the replacement agency crew working on the company’s vessels were being paid less than half the legal minimum wage.
Shockingly, these wages and the appalling conditions also imposed upon the crew were detailed in documents – now seen by the ITF – which were prepared for P&O’s Malta-based crewing agency, Philcrew, and signed by ISU-Lanibra in 2023. Rather than trying to prevent or resolve this critical case, the ISU failed to offer protection to the seafarers or to try to uphold their basic rights.
Nautilus and the RMT union both informed the UK government that ‘ISU has been created to give a veneer that P&O Ferries is committed to working with trade unions when in reality it exists to rubber stamp P&O Ferries’ exploitative crewing model.’
Read about other cases involving everything from seafarer abandonment to wage theftThe ITF is also reminding companies that ships sailing under ISU-Lanibra agreements face fierce opposition worldwide, and that partnering with ISU exposes them to serious legal, reputational and financial risks. Partnering with ISU means complicity in undermining seafarers' fundamental rights.
Nautilus members who become aware of ISU-Lanibra agreements are free to contact me to report what they know. It is only with the eyes and ears of genuine trade union members that the ITF and its affiliates will be able to tackle this 'sham union' and ensure that we can maintain continuous improvement of global standards.
Tags