Global union federation the ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) today condemned the killing of three Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) workers and the wounding of 12 others at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport on Tuesday.

Commenting on the raid on the CSL Melbourne in Newcastle today, ITF seafarers’ section chair Dave Heindel said: “This raid was an error of truly national dimensions. The Australian government seems hell-bent on stripping away the very protections that make Australia the nation it is, and in doing so is becoming an international embarrassment in an industry seeking higher standards of governance and accountability.”

Commenting on today’s planned TPPA trade agreement signing in New Zealand, ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) president Paddy Crumlin said: “We, like our fellow global unions and everyone protesting in Auckland today, are clear about one thing: the TPPA – Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement – offers nothing to workers in the Asia-Pacific region except job insecurity and exclusion.”

The ITF held a series of meeting 25-27 January 2016 in London with Federation of Korean Seafarers’ Union (FKSU) and Federation of Korean Maritime Seafarers’ Union (KMSU), with an aim to create reconciliatory process.

The ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) is to pay for legal support for the court appeal of the ship’s crew members of the Seaman Guard Ohio.

Maritime employers and seafarers’ unions have joined forces to publish new international ‘Guidance on Eliminating Shipboard Harassment and Bullying’.

ITF inspectors, along with dockers’ and seafarers’ union members, will check pay and working conditions on board vessels as part of the first East Asian maritime action week of 2016. The action week will be held from 25 to 29 January across ports in Japan, Korea, Russia and Taiwan.

The ITF has united with its affiliate the Thai Airways International Union (TG Union) and the State Enterprise Workers Relations Confederation (SERC) to bring a complaint to the International Labour Organization (ILO) about the government of Thailand’s failure to protect workers’ rights.

The ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) has again questioned the behaviour of Alcoa as apparent non-payment of wages on one of the vessels it uses has been detected just a day after the MV Portland was spirited away from its Australian port (see http://goo.gl/CCXqWg)

The ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) today strongly condemned the raid early this morning (Wednesday) on the MV Portland in the Australian home port for which it is named. Up to 30 security guards were reportedly used to eject the five Australian crew members from the vessel and usher on a non-national crew, which then set sail for Singapore.

The ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) and its affiliated unions are keeping a close eye on the MV Portland dispute in south-eastern Australia, with key international unions now backing the local campaign to protect jobs.

We would like to wish transport workers all over the world a very happy New Year. We hope you have had a peaceful festive season and the break has been a chance for members, staff and officers to regroup, to renew commitments and to gather collective strength for the challenges that lie ahead in 2016.