Unilever Plc and Procter & Gamble Co. urge to resolve the crisis of more than 300,000 seafarers stuck on commercial vessels.
Namely, according to Bloomberg chief executives of household consumer brands have signed an open letter calling for measures to enable more crew changes at ports, and also ensure the safety of overworked seafarers.
The letter was sent to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Wednesday before a General Assembly web conference on seafarers.
The call to action by more than two dozen CEOs is considered as one of the strongest appeals by business titans to highlight the seafarer crisis.
What is more, to ensure the supply of critical goods and protect seafarers’ human rights, the CEOs are calling for measures that regard:
- A robust test and trace regime to ensure the safety of seafarers and crew changes;
- Limiting any unavoidable crew contract extensions to the next scheduled port where crew change is possible, and/or diverting course to a port where crew changes can be arranged;
- Signatories communicating the request for the measures to their shippers, logistics providers and suppliers, and the Consumer Goods Forum will encourage all stakeholders to abide by labor principles.
