ITF NetherlandsA ship crew member lashes a container
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 12:18
Real Police
editor Economics
Real Police
editor Economics
Who does the heaviest work in the port? There is a long-running battle in Rotterdam about that question.
It concerns lashing – the loosening and securing of containers – on ships. Since 2020, shipping companies with ships for which a collective labor agreement has been concluded have had to hire specially trained dock workers. But in practice, companies often still use their own crew for the life-threatening lashing work, says the international trade union ITF.
“This kind of work is needed on about fifteen to twenty ships a day,” says trade unionist Gijs Mol. On behalf of the international trade union ITF, he carries out inspections in the port of Rotterdam. “My estimate is that on average eleven of these do not hire lashers.”
One dead in Belfast
How dangerous the work can be became apparent in Belfast at the beginning of this year. During nighttime lashing work on board the container ship BG Ruby, a 54-year-old Filipino sailor fell into the dark water. He died in hospital.
The sailor sailed between Rotterdam and the Northern Irish capital with the BG Ruby. The ship is part of the fleet of the Dutch BG Freight Line, which leases the ship from a German owner.
Because the BG Ruby flew under the Portuguese flag, it was the Portuguese authorities that carried out the investigation into the accident in Northern Ireland. The Portuguese report shows, among other things, that the sailor was not wearing a life jacket and that no fencing had been attached to the outsides to prevent the crew from falling overboard during the lashing work.
BG Freight Line does not want to reveal anything about the matter. It also remains silent when asked whether they hire lashers in Rotterdam. “The subject is currently sensitive, so I am not going to make any statements,” says general manager Frank Kapaan.
ITF NetherlandsA ship crew member lashes a container in the port of Rotterdam. The photo was taken by the ITF trade union
To prevent accidents, the top of the shipping industry met in 2018. Both major employers and the international seafarers’ unions participated. They came together to create the ‘Non Seafarers Working Clause’.
That clause came into effect in 2020 and states that shipping companies must have certified lashers come from shore to safely lash the towering stacks of containers. This should also prevent containers from disappearing into the sea.
Shipping companies may only use their own crew members if there are not enough lashers available in the port of Rotterdam. They must request permission from the FNV Havens trade union for this, but that rarely happens in practice, the union says.
Bart Kamphuis | NOSEA lasher in training receives instructions.
Yet there are still ships where sailors do the dangerous lashing work every day, says Inspector Mol. According to him, we are waiting for the next accident. And so he goes to war with his trade union colleagues. Earlier this year, the Rotterdam judge confirmed in a substantive proceeding that shipping companies must adhere to the ‘Non Seafarers Working Clause’. However, lashing by sailors has not stopped since then.
New process
Through a new lawsuit, unions tried to force the Singaporean shipping company X-Press Feeders to use dock workers instead of crew members. That shipping company rents several ships, including the Nordica, which sails under the Dutch flag and can regularly be found in Rotterdam.
It resulted in a settlement, in which it was agreed that Nordica will from now on use Rotterdam lashers, the lawyer for X-Press Feeders confirms. “Because this ship sails under the Dutch flag, this matter was relatively easy,” says Mol. “It is more complicated for ships sailing under a foreign flag.”
The unions are meeting this month to devise a plan on how they can also force foreign-flagged shipping companies to have the lashing work carried out by dock workers. “It looks like we’ll have to charge each ship separately.”
2023-10-16 10:18:13
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