Project Pillars of the Sea II
The project as a whole, is a continuation of the Pillars of the Sea project, and in partially implementing the work programme of the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for Sea Fishing in order to significantly make progress in various key areas of interest for Social Partners. The main issues covered by the project are mainly dealing with how to improve health, working conditions and safety at sea of our fishermen.
In this context, the European Social Partners have produced one study and one phone application with the aim to contribute to ameliorate EU legislation regarding training, safety, accommodation, business efficiency and free movement of workers which will ultimately offer to our fishermen a healthier working environment, better skills and decent work.
Pillar 1 (ongoing): Constitutes the aim to develop guidelines for the vessel owners on the decent recruitment of migrant fishers. There is an issue of the international recruitment and placement of migrant fishers, as cases of abusive and fraudulent practices are still reality in the sector. There is therefore need for practical guidelines for the vessels owners on how to ensure that the private employment agencies that they engage comply with human rights and international and EU labour regulations.
Pillar 2: Contains the development of guidelines that are aimed to give guidance to persons authorised by competent authorities to conduct medical examinations and to issue medical certificates. The guidelines’ structure is based on the joint ILO/IMO guidelines on medical examination, but with health standards and fitness criteria adjusted to the specificities of fishers’ work.
EU Guidelines on the medical examinations of fishers
EU Guidelines on the medical examinations of fishers
Lignes directrices relatives aux examens médicaux des pêcheurs
Lignes directrices relatives aux examens médicaux des pêcheurs
Directrices para la realización de los reconocimientos médicos de los pescadores
Directrices para la realización de los reconocimientos médicos de los pescadores
Pillar 3: Consists of a an update of the 'Fishery Speak' app which was created by the Social Partners as part of a previous project. It is an interactive glossary, aimed at improving on board safety as well as navigation security. It provides an overview of the main phrases used on board in relation to safety procedures. The improved version increased the user friendliness and made the safety glossary available in Italian, Russian, and Arabic apart from the original English, French, Spanish, Polish, and Dutch.
Available via Google Play store
Available via Apple store
News
European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) and Europêche have published new Guidelines on the medical examinations of fishers, paving the way for the harmonisation of standards for health and fitness checks across Europe and worldwide.
The European Social Partners in the Sea Fisheries Sector (ETF and Europêche) were proud to host yesterday a webinar on the ILO Work in Fishing Convention (C188) considering its value in ensuring effective protection of the rights of fishers at global level. The event was successfully organised in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO), the European Commission and representatives of important fishing nations such as France, the Netherlands, Denmark and the United Kingdom. High-ranked panellists widely called for the ratification and implementation of the ILO C188 and its EU equivalent, EU Directive 2017/159, by addressing the barriers and the benefits of implementing the social standards established in the C188 for the protection of workers.