A letter from 12 trade unions was sent to Marc Garneau, the minister of transport, on December 7, urgin Canada to to address its crew change stance.
The letter calls on Transport Canada to establish a firm deadline on the crew change crisis that has resulted in more than 400,000 seafarers globally now serving on board vessels up to nine months longer than the maximum period of eleven months service on board permitted under the Maritime Labour Convention.
In addition, while “Canada has done exemplary work to designate seafarers as key workers, facilitate entry visas for foreign crew members joining vessels and has been viewed as a global leader for securing safe passage for some crew members, we believe much of the most critical work has yet to be done.”
Seafarers must not continue to work on board in excess of eleven months. Some have now been on active duty in excess of nineteen months without a break. Many have not been permitted shore leave and some have even been denied necessary medical attention ashore. The COVID-19 Pandemic has given rise to extraordinary levels of stress, fatigue and safety concerns for seafarers who remain stuck at sea
In addition, the letter notes that this has become not only a labour and humanitarian issue, but now a marine safety and security issue. Overworked seafarers, who are fatigued and experiencing mental health challenges, whose labour has been stretched to its limits, represent a significant risk to marine safety and security.
While Transport Canada, through Port State Control, has helped some seafarers with repatriation and crew change issues, the majority of seafarers remain trapped in their positions on board. Transport Canada has indicated that they will assist seafarers with repatriation, “when they ask for it”.
However, the letter noted that “the brutal reality is that many will not ask. It is widely acknowledged that international seafarers are amongst some of the most exploited workers in the world and the simple fact is that most are either too afraid to request assistance in fear of losing their job or are unaware of their right to do so because of the appalling labour conditions they are so accustomed to operating in.”
To give a solution to the problem, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has announced a deadline of February 28, 2021 upon which AMSA’s Port State Control will again begin to fully enforce the eleven-month limit on duration of service under the Maritime Labour Convention regardless of the status of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
While the organization would support an even earlier deadline date, their request is that the Government of Canada follow suit with Australia and announce a firm deadline upon which Transport Canada’s Port State Control officers will begin enforcing the limit of service without exceptions or considerations of so-called extensions signed by seafarers on board or not.
Establishing a firm deadline on enforcement of length of service should be viewed as an integral step to ensure that those operations continue to occur in the safest, healthiest and most humane way possible for the world’s seafarers who have, and continue, to shoulder so much burden in keeping the world’s trade moving and our economies intact
