A campaign from the Marine Transport Workers’ Trade Union of Ukraine (MTWTU), supported by the ITF and the International Maritime Employers’ Council (IMEC), is highlighting the key role of maritime workers to keep the world supplied with essentials during the Covid-19 crisis.
Food, medicines and fuels are just some of the vital goods being delivered around the world by sea.
The MTWTU’s first vice chair, Oleg Grigoryuk said: “It’s crucial to show how global maritime transport workers are at the forefront of the epidemic in terms of global trade, how greatly the international community appreciates their labour and how important their job is for every each city, each family and each person in the world.”
The MTWTU wants maritime workers to photograph themselves with a campaign poster and post on social media with the hashtag #ISupplyTheWorld.
The ITF has launched a map showing the effect of Covid-19 restrictions on countries and ports around the globe.
Based on data from the ITF’s network of around 140 inspectors and contact networks, the map will be a vital resource for the thousands of seafarers hit hard by the crisis.
I see in the Canadian news the difficult stories of Canadian passengers trapped on cruise ships with Covid-19, who are eventually allowed to get off, and then home I don't recall seeing on the Canadian news anything about the ships' crews, no mention of their suffering , their predicament, their sickness and the impact on their families.