‘Inequality and lack of regulation’ the key causes of the situation
The ITF (International Transport Workers Federation) applauded initiatives to rescue migrants at sea and called for more search and rescue resources to be deployed, as well as for the root causes of the crisis to be tackled.
ITF president Paddy Crumlin, stated: “We welcome the recent naval rescues in European waters and the reversal of the scandalous ban by Indonesia and Malaysia that prevented refugees from being brought to shore. The humanitarian crisis in both these areas demands the maximum possible use of search and rescue services, alongside the assistance already being given by merchant and fishing vessels – which rescued 42,000 people in similar circumstances last year.
“It is good that seafarers and fishers – themselves economic migrants travelling the world at or in search of work – are no longer the first and sometimes only people saving the lives of the passengers on these decaying, human trafficking vessels. But the human crisis continues and must be addressed. Rescue must be coupled with resettlement. Conditions in the countries from which the migrants come must be improved as far as it is possible to do so. The responsibility for this is at the door of all of us.
“The chaos at sea dramatically illustrates the need for regulation. Where are these vessels coming from? Some at least will be, like the Moldovan-flagged Blue Sky-M, flag of convenience (FOC) ships, taking advantage of the lax oversight associated with those flag registers.“
He concluded: “Global inequality and lack of regulation are among the key causes of this appalling situation. It is trade unions that are doing something to rectify it.“
This latest message follows on from the joint appeal for action delivered by the ITF, the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA), the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) – as well as last week’s declaration by the executive council of its European arm, the ETF, that the crisis was avoidable.
The ETF called for:
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You may view theETF statement by clicking below:
Source: ITF