At the ITF’s Fair Practice Committee meeting earlier this month, the latest figures were presented highlighting the work of the ITF inspectors.
Key findings included that as of November 2023 they had conduced 9,785 inspections (up 1,688 on the corresponding period on 2022). Of which:
- 5,740 were routine inspections
- 1,559 were following requests from seafarers/crew.
The inspectors were most significantly responsible for recovering $47,008,910 in owed wages, which again marked an increase of $12,277,651 on the 2022 figure.
Inspectors have been responsible for submitting 117 of the 119 abandonments reported, with 1,795 seafarers on board vessels reported as abandoned. Panama has the highest number of abandonments with 23 followed by Palau with 12.
We currently have 138 ITF inspectors, located in 120 ports in 59 countries.
ITF’s inspectors police and enforce agreements with shipowners. They board vessels to check seafarers have decent pay, working conditions and living standards.
Steve Trowsdale, ITF's Inspectorate Coordinator, said: "it goes without saying that we are immensely proud of the work of the ITF inspectors. These men and women hold to account those shipowners who seek to exploit seafarers. All too often what we find are poor working and living conditions, seafarers being over worked and going unpaid for long periods. That’s where the inspectors step in, to make sure the workers involved get treated fairly.’’
For more on ITF’s work with seafarers: https://www.itfglobal.org/en/sector/seafarers
ENDS
Media contact: media@itf.org.uk
About the ITF: The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is a democratic, affiliate-led federation recognised as the world’s leading transport authority. We fight passionately to improve working lives; connecting trade unions from 150 countries to secure rights, equality and justice for their members. We are the voice for nearly 20 million working women and men in the transport industry across the world.
