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AFL-CIO calls on USA to back seafarers' identity document and Maritime Labour Convention
Submitted by mickd on Wed, 2009-09-30 02:45.25 September 2009
The annual convention of the North American trade union body AFL-CIO, meeting in September, has passed resolutions calling on the USA and Canada to back the seafarers’ identity document and the Maritime Labour Convention. The convention was a high-level event, which was addressed by US President Barrack Obama and US Labour Secretary Hilda Solis. ITF General Secretary David Cockcroft also attended.
The resolution on the seafarers’ identity document called on the USA and Canada to ratify the International Labour Organization Convention (ILO) 185, under which seafarers do not need a visa to take shore leave in a foreign country.
The AFL-CIO also backed its allies in the ITF to call upon the major maritime powers of the world – including the United States and Canada – to ratify the ILO's Maritime Labour Convention, which seeks to set minimum conditions of employment for the world’s seafarers. The resolution said that the lack of ratification by nations such as the USA and Canada is the one thing blocking implementation of the minimum standards.
