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The reclaiming lashing campaign is run by member unions of the ITF and its European arm the ETF, and is supported by the two federations.
At the meeting on 6-7 March, which was attended by ITF dock workers’ representatives, Transport Canada and a legal firm, the Debardeurs confirmed that it was ready to ‘resume this work that has been mistakenly taken away [from dockers in Canadian terminals] for several years’.
SCFP branch 375 president Christian Beaudin said: “It is unacceptable to ask underpaid sailors to lash a ship in motion on the St Lawrence Seaway. Sailors are obliged to lash during their rest periods under the threat of being expelled from the boat at the next port if they do not co-operate. For our jobs and for the health and safety of seafarers, we must all be united for the cause.”
Torben Seebold, ITF dockers’ section vice-chair, expressed excitement that the Montreal Debardeurs had joined the campaign and commented that their involvement would strengthen unions’ work in Europe and represent the first steps towards winning the issue on a global scale. He concluded that unions could now start to address the abuses experienced by seafarers forced to do lashing work, with huge safety risks and inadequate rest periods.
Allowing seafarers to lash and unlash their charted vessels presents danger to the workers and is in direct contravention of the ITF dockers’ clause, which specifically reserves lashing and unlashing for dockers, who are trained for the work.
Dockers – find out more about the reclaiming lashing campaign.
Seafarers – let us know if you’re asked to do lashing or unlashing work in breach of an ITF contact at ReclaimLashing@itf.org.uk.
Read about the recent union demonstration at Unifeeder, Denmark over seafarers being used to lash and unlash the company’s charted vessels.